Under an Angel's Wings
by breezy034
Summary: Elizabeth Herin has a normal, everyday life. Minus the snowy white wings protruding from her back. One morning, while taking shelter from a summer storm, she is kidnapped by a man in a black coat who calls himself ‘Axel’. What's going on? BEING REWRITTEN
1. Lazy summer afternoons

Breezy: "Yay! I got my brain working! Anyhow, this is my story!"

"You really didn't think I'd forget and be sued, did you? Anyway, KH and KH2 don't belong to me, and neither do the characters, or plot. Elizabeth, however, is my OC. Her story and home are also mine. Now, BEGIN!"

* * *

I stared out the screen door. The summer's heat was worse today than it had been all week, if that were even possible. Summer break had started about two days ago. Two days done and I was already bored. I shut my eyes and listened to the cicadas' whine and chirps and a wish of a passing car. Lindsey sat in the den, watching Sesame Street on TV. She usually would be talking your ears off, but that was what you'd get used to after a while. She was only four years old, but she knew some big words for a kid in pre-school.

School started in three, maybe three and a half months, but even though I should have been running through the forest and fields with my friends Mary and Susan, my mind kept drifting to schoolwork. Mr. Prez, the English teacher, had assigned us a four-page report on something interesting we'd have done over the summer. Nothing interesting has ever happened to me, other than the snowy white wings that sprout from my back, but you don't write that in a school paper, unless you want attention to you like Brittany's new hairstyle. Leme explain that first part.

My name is Elizabeth Herin, Liz or Lizzy for short. When I was given to Amy and her husband, they discovered small bumps where my shoulder blades were.

I've never seen my real mother and father.

About a year later, White feathers emerged from my back. Even though I was two, I still can remember the intense pain. Well, you can imagine Amy and her husband were struck. A foster child with wings!

I was hidden. Amy home-schooled me for a few years. The only people I ever told were Mary, Susan, and the principal. Lucky for me, they all understood. The principal was the nicest, though. He let me skip PE, claiming I had a heart murmur. (A/N: For those of you who don't understand, that's a small hole in a chamber of your heart. Physically, not mentally.) Now I understood why.

In middle school, you have to dress out for gym, and 35 other girls freaking out over a pair of wings wouldn't end well, would it?

I jerked myself back to reality and thought about what I could do. The only things I came up with were things I couldn't do.

Ride my bike. / It was _way_ too hot.

2. Talk to Amy. / Even though Amy was ok, she never wanted to talk anymore.

I opened my eyes, shifted so I wouldn't hit the coat rack, and flapped lazily. Suddenly my attention was caught as I glanced at a figure that seemed to be facing me. He was standing in the field in front of our house. "Poor guy." I said to myself. He was probably boiling in that black coat he was in. Just as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone.

Lindsey squeaked as Elmo's World popped onto the screen.

* * *

A very nervous and jumpy Demyx walked down the hall, cowering. He had failed in his mission. His orders: Get the girl. After all, how hard would it be to get a 14 year-old teenager? He could only pray that there would be something left of him when it was over. 

" I'll be a dusk for this." He said in a low voice to himself.

"Boo."

Said a voice behind him. Demyx jumped through the ceiling. Number eight patiently waited until he made it back. "Axel!" Demyx shouted when he had landed. Axel grinned at this, and then, looking at Demyx, he said, "You didn't get her."

Silence.

Demyx took a breath, let it out and replied, "Well, no."

Axel put his face in his hands and then gave Demyx a glare. "Axel, I told you they sent the wrong guy. I couldn't do it." Demyx said, starting to picture how hard Sïax (Or Xaldin, depending on what mood Superior was in) would hit him. Axel took another breath and replied,

"You do realize that you'll be a dusk for this."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Just confirming it for ya."

Demyx sighed, knowing full well that the certain redhead wouldn't help him for the time being, and made his way to the meeting room. On his way, he called over his shoulder, "If there's anything left of me, just put me in the fountain."

* * *

**Breezy:** "Well, there ya go. Hopefully I'll get chapter 2 up soon… but until then, bye!" 


	2. Axel's on the job!

**Breezy:** "Here we are, another chap. What do you think of it so far, Axel?"

**Axel:** "How did you get me here?"

**Breezy:** "I don't know."

**Axel: **"Well, it's okay, but-"

**Breezy:** "That's fine. Anyway, KH and KH2 characters, plot, and meaning don't belong to me, whereas Elizabeth does. She's my OC and I'm not afraid to use her! Also, I just noticed; yesterday was July 4th! Anyone have a good holiday?"

**Axel:** "Could you just skip to the story? You're the one with the remote."

**Breezy:** "Yeah, sure. You there, READ!"

* * *

"That's seven dollars, Liz." Mr. Delaro told me. I handed him a ten, got the change, and took the bag full of apples, potatoes, and everything else needed for making a decent dinner. "See ya, Mr. Delaro." I called behind my shoulder. "You too." He replied. As I opened the door, the bell on the top rang from the blowing breeze. I walked off the porch and into the open sunlight. The bag shifted, then stayed put when I put it in the basket on my bike and started pedaling. The angle of the sun told me it was around five or six. I kept moving, looked around, and furled out my wings.

Going down a hill is so much fun.

As long as you avoid rocks and trees.

When I reached my house, I slipped my windbreaker back on. Our house was an old, yellow, vine covered Victorian, with a field behind it and a yellow barn beside it. Most of the field was used for our mare, Rosemary. I could only imagine how many times she'd been closer to me than mom. I suppose it was because she wanted a pair of her own wings. The rest of the field was for crops. We didn't grow much, just some corn, carrots, and in the summer, watermelons. I opened the front door, put the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter, and made dinner. Mom, Lindsey, and I ate in silence, as usual. I went to my room after dinner, and looked around. My room is on the second floor, facing the field. It's painted a light sky blue. A light blue bed, a nightstand, a few articles of clothing scattered around, your usual room for a 14-year-old. I put on a cooler shirt, and left the house. The familiar sent of pine and a whistle of wind in my ears came to me as I took off. In the middle of the wood, there's a lake. In the morning, it makes a great fishing spot. Once Lindsay caught a really big catfish, but we had to throw it back because of the face it made. I landed on one of the upper branches of a pine and sat down.

If you knew me, you'd know that when I close my eyes and put my fingers to my temples, I'm trying to solve a problem, or in deep thought. The man in the black coat kept popping up into my head. Somehow, he seemed familiar.

Sunsets at the lake always blend in wonderfully with the landscape. After the sun sets, the first stars come out, and some stray lightning bugs float around, lazily lighting up every now and then. After about an hour, I went home, only to be graced the next morning with rain pattering on the roof.

* * *

"-Soiled your reputation, disobeyed orders, and failure in your assignment!" Xemnas shouted into number nine's face. "And then, just for a second, you think I won't notice!" "Won't happen again, Superior." Demyx muttered. Apparently that was enough, because Xemnas turned to Axel. "Perhaps you could fetch her, number eight. Have her here no later than tomorrow night." "Yes sir, of course." Axel said with a cocky smile, seeming to still linger even after he disappeared into a black portal. "I'm not done with you yet, number nine." Xemnas said to a Demyx who immediately gulped.

* * *

**Breezy:** "Poor Demyx. But it's not like its happened before, right?"

**Demyx:** "Huh? What do you mean?"

…

**Breezy:** "Never mind. Please Review, you all. Bye!"

**Demyx:** "Bye everyone! And, please review!"


	3. Kidnapped!

**Breezy:** "Heh, heh…."

**Elizabeth:** "What's with you?"

**Breezy**: "Oh, nothing. Could you say the disclaimer? I'm busy."

**Elizabeth:** "Breezy doesn't own KH or KH2's characters, plot, or idea. She does own my contract allowing me to be, however. Say, what are you doing with that bucket…filled with water?"

**Breezy:** "You'll know in a bit. Go ahead and read, everyone!"

* * *

The hallway closet is always filled with the stuff you've been looking for but couldn't find. Once, Lindsey had found the Barbie doll she'd been trying to find for months in there. It's also filled with large ponchos, too, made for carrying large items under them so they don't get wet. Or wings. Either way you look at it.

I grabbed one, slipped it on, and braced myself for the impact of a summer storm. As I fed the animals, which were cowering from the random lightning and thunder strikes, thoughts kept popping up regarding past events. Mainly: The man in the black coat. Never had I seen any person dressed like that. Even in the parts of town you don't want to go in. I was just about to go back in the house, when the storm got worse, is that were possible.

The rain was so thick when I looked out, you couldn't even see the house. Suddenly, Rosemary started neighing like mad. Something couldn't be right. Rosemary almost never got that scared during a storm. When I turned to see what was wrong, I saw a hooded, black-coated figure blocking the exit of the barn.

It was staring right at me.

In my head, I made a plan to start running, then talking off, out of the door above him.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Said the figure, I could now tell was a man.

My mind momentarily stopped so I could figure something out. Did he just get into my mind?! The man lowered his hood, to reveal a spiky red head, with strange markings shaped like tears under his neon green eyes.

"You know, if you don't put up a fight, Superior won't go too hard on you."

"I wouldn't go with you if my life depended on it!"

"Have it your way." He said with a grin.

He spread out his arms and, in a rush of flame, caught two charkams which he twirled around in his hands. Something inside me finally snapped. I ran behind him, then took off flying. Something large and sharp hit my left wing before everything went black.

* * *

When I came to, I found myself in a large, purple-pink room, with walls on 4 sides and bars on one. I tried to get up, but a large, blinding pain in my head and left wing prevented me from moving. So, I sat for ten minutes, guessing were I was and how I got here. A soft sound slowly made its way to my ears. Footsteps. They got louder, and then the red headed man appeared. "Sorry about that." He said, looking towards my wing. I noticed it had been carefully bandaged, and also put in a splint. "Who are you?" I asked slowly. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Where am I?"

"You're in Organization XIII's castle dungeons."

A few minutes passed, while I was trying to take it in. Organization XIII was a myth where I came from. A group of nobodies, who were hell-bent on completing a project: Kingdom Hearts. People had claimed there were also things called 'heartless,' too. But it was usually only a ghost story, told at summer camps to scare a few third graders. No one really believed it. But according to 'Axel', they were real, unless this was some big joke.

"How long have I been here?" I stated, more than asked.

"About a week."

My eyes widened, and I jumped, and then yelped because of sudden pain.

"Just kidding, you've only been here a few hours."

"Don't joke like that!" I yelled.

Axel chuckled and said, "Sorry, but I couldn't resist."

Suddenly, Axel blinked and said, "Oh, almost forgot, you need to eat." And with that, he conjured (what looked like) food on a tray, and held it through two bars.

"Sorry, but I can't move."

"Why not?" he replied.

"Mind-bending pain in my legs, that's why."

"Oh."

After Axel said that, he disappeared into a black portal and showed up behind me in a millisecond. He lowered the tray next to me, said he'd be back, and disappeared.

I tried one bite of the food and used the rest of my strength trying to keep it down.

"Yuck." I said to myself as I fought down another piece of the 'food.'

After about 10 minutes, Axel came back.

"Come on. We need to go see Xemnas."

"And he is…?"

"The guy that'll kick your ass if you don't follow his orders."

"Like I'd want to meet _him_, then_."_

"Come on."

And with that, Axel pulled me to my feet, (still causing pain, might I add,) and pulled me into a spiraling portal of black-blue-violet.

* * *

As soon as I entered the portal, I knew it was a mistake. Around Axel and me, there was nothing but darkness, and I could feel it closing in on me. Ever been on those really fast, berserk-ish roller coasters you want to go on at first, and then regret it as soon as it's over? You know how your stomach feels as you're going 85 m.p.h? Take away the thrill, and that's how I felt.

Axel caught me just as my knees, which I'm surprised stayed steady so long, gave out.

"Don't worry, we're almost there." He reassured.

Suddenly a light came and we were no longer walking through a black abyss. Axel and I stood in the center of a tall, bright, circular room. Chairs stood at different heights all around; seating people wearing the same black robes and boots as Axel. Some had their hoods pulled up, others kept them down. The highest chair stood in front of us. On it, was a muscular figure with its hood pulled up.

"Superior, I have brought the girl." Said Axel.

"Excellent, number eight. And how is her condition?" Replied (what I assumed was) Xemnas.

It really ticks me off when someone speaks for me.

Unless I'm about to throw up.

"I'm fine, thanks. But I'd enjoy going home." I spoke up.

"I'm afraid that cannot be granted. You see, you are…. needed in our group. Returning to your home will be impossible, for now." Xemnas informed, with a grin in his voice. He went on, this time talking to Axel.

"Number eight, take her to her quarters. And make sure she feels at home." He said, the grin still in his voice.

"Yes sir." Axel replied, and conjured another portal.

* * *

**Breezy:** "Man, was that long. Took me forever to type it.'

**Demyx:** "Not including breaks."

**Sora:** "No kidding."

….

**Breezy:** "Sora… How did you get here?"

**Sora: **"…I…don't know."

**Breezy:** "Okay... Well, chap is done now. Bye!"

**Sora:** "Who is she?"


	4. This is a giant castle

**Breezy:** "For those of you who were wondering-"

**Axel:** "YOU SET UP A BUCKET OF ICE COLD WATER OVER MY DOOR!!"

**Breezy:** "It'll build character. Besides, you hair looks better flat. Anyways, I do not own KH or KH2, no matter how much I would like to, its characters, plot, or locations. Elizabeth is my OC, and if you steal her story, I will bite your right hand."

**Axel:** "I was an innocent passerby, folks. Then _SHE _had to _RUIN_ my life with a _BUCKET_ of _ICE__COLD__WATER!!!_ She may seem innocent now, but she's evil, I tell you, _EVIL!"_

**Breezy:** "Eh. Whatever. On with the chapter!"

* * *

Axel was practically the only thing holding me up once we appeared before a door, the number 14 etched in roman numerals on it. Axel opened it for me, and helped me to a chair. I looked around the room. 

It wasn't huge, but it was a nice cozy space, with a bookshelf, desk, dresser, bed, and nightstand. The walls were painted a soft cerulean, and the floor a tan carpet. It was all completed by a framed, painted canvas, showing a cloud, sky, and sun picture. When I turned back to Axel, he had a goofy grin on his face, and I could tell he was proud of something.

"Here." He said, and handed me a crumpled sheet of paper.

Axel stood up and left before I could say anything.

I unfolded the paper:

_Elizabeth, _

_Hopefully you'll enjoy your room._

_Roxas, Axel, and I fixed it up for you._

_(Axel worked especially hard on it.)_

_I know we haven't met yet, but I know we will soon._

_Once you get used to it, I know you'll enjoy it here._

_If you ever need help, just ask._

_Demyx is right down the hall, so you've got him near you._

_Something tells me you'll get along with most people around here._

_Hope to see you soon,_

Naminé. 

Naminé was right, I hadn't ever heard of her, let alone meet her. But in the note, she seemed friendly, so I looked forward to meeting her, too. The only thing that worried me was 'Demyx.' If he was one of those guys in black, it might not be fun meeting him. Then again, Axel seemed okay, but Xemnas still freaked me out.

Anyways, I was comforted by the note, and put it on the desk as I undressed for bed. (Strangely, the clothes in the dresser fit perfectly.) As I looked out the window over my bed, I saw a large, luminous, heart-shaped moon floating in the sky. It was the last thing I saw as I went to sleep.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like an 18-wheeler just ran over me. Twice. As I got dressed, I wondered what might happen today. Yesterday had been filled with, well…changes is the right word, I guess. Point is, the people I'd seen yesterday didn't seem too friendly. Sure, I'd decided Axel was alright, but of course Xemnas still worried me. 

I started to open my door, when I noticed that I had no chance of finding my way around. In front of me stretched a _long _hallway, with paths leading to the right and left, too. To the right, a staircase, and the left, a dead end, except for a door with a 10 etched in roman numerals on it. Down the hallway in front of me, a few windows stood on the walls, and a door with 9 in roman numerals on it.

Now, you think a minute. Which door? Or maybe the staircase? 9 or 10? Which to choose… I went for 9. Through the door, strange guitar-like music flowed. It sounded pretty nice. After about a minute or two of consideration, I knocked.

"Hold on." Said a male voice. Wasn't Axel's.

After about a minute, the door opened, to reveal a green eyed, dirty-blond 18 or so year old, with a…mullet?

"Uh…" I started. I hadn't even thought of what to say. Thankfully, he seemed to catch on.

"Oh yeah, you're that new kid." He said, a goofy grin plastered to his face. "I'll show you around." Is it just me, or can everyone here read minds?

He closed his door and started walking towards the staircase.

"My name's Demyx, by the way." 'Demyx' said.

We reached the stairs, and Demyx pointed behind us towards the door with a 10 on it.

"That's Luxord's room," He stated. "You wouldn't want to bother him; He'll try getting you into game of strip poker." I gave him the 'glare.' "Just kidding, you're not to his standards…yet."

"I'll take that as an insult."

Demyx showed me around the rest of the castle, he also showed where the other members' rooms were, including Naminé's. Either Vexen's or Larxene's was the creepiest. Near Vexen's was broken glass, and what seemed to be animal skulls. Larxene's room was blasting out loud rock music.

After touring the rec. room, Demyx said, "I'm hungry. You?" "Yeah." I agreed, stomach growling. "Around 11:00, too. We missed breakfast." He brought up. After a half hour of walking later, Demyx's watch beeped. "Lunchtime!" He yelled, and started running, only giving me one choice: To follow him.

* * *

**Breezy:** "I'd like to take this time to thank all the reviewers so far. What good is a story without a good opinion? Thank you all! I'm done for now, night." 

**Axel:** "But it's morning."

**Breezy:** "Well, I sleep VERY late during holidays, so I'll wake up again at 3.I went to bed at 2 last night, and I need sleep just as much as the next girl. Good Morning."

#SLAM#

**Axel:** "I need to rig the water purification system right now. You'll have to press that button to review. Bye."


	5. Lunch Yes, it's a short chapter

**Breezy:** "Yes, I know! This is a short chapter! Sue me! I am tired, it's 2 a.m. and I CAN'T SLEEP.

**Axel:** "I think you scared them all away."

**Breezy:** "I don't own KH, KH2, its characters, fans, or plot. I only own Elizabeth's contract allowing her to be."

**Axel:** "I guess she's not saying any more. Go ahead and read."

**Breezy:** **THUNK**

Demyx finally stopped running outside of two large doors. When I caught up to him, he said, (trying) to look serious, "Everyone should be in there eating. You'll sit in between Roxas and Naminé. Roxas has this spiky blond hair and blue eyes, and Naminé has blond hair, blue eyes, and is the one wearing the white dress. You'll know em' when you see em'. Good Luck." And with that, Demyx opened the door.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at us when we came in. This guy with an eye patch had his fork halfway to his mouth. As I walked towards my seat, I could hear whispers and feel stares on my back.

Soon as I sat down, people resumed to whatever they were doing before. Demyx struck a grin at me and started talking to Axel, who looked relieved. I noticed that sitting on Axel's other side was an angry-looking man with blue hair.

"You must be Elizabeth. I'm Naminé." Said the blond girl sitting next to me. "Nice to meet you, Naminé." I replied happily. Naminé sounded as nice as she looked.

"How do you like your room?"

"It's very nice. I enjoy it."

"Axel's the one who put up the picture." Said a voice to my left.

I just then noticed a boy with dirty-blond hair, in a style that made him look as if he'd been sitting in front of a fan for a while, and blue eyes. "Oh, sorry. You must be Roxas."

"Yeah." Replied 'Roxas.'

"Well, I'd like to thank you too, Roxas."

"Don't mention it."

Other than chatting with Naminé, I ate some, but not as much as usual. Afterwards, Naminé, Demyx, Roxas, and Axel walked me back to my room. We talked for a while, then went to dinner, talked some more, and went back to our rooms.

I sat on my bed, sinking it all in. The note still laid on the desk, untouched for a day.

I unfolded it as I picked it up.

_Something tells me you'll get along with most people around here._

I was starting to believe that statement. I mean, I'd make friends with three people in one day.

_(Axel worked especially hard on it.)_

Axel. He was a puzzle. Innocent one second, Al Capone the next. Still, he was a good friend.

_Once you get used to it, I know you'll enjoy it here._

Naminé, I hope you're right.

**Breezy:** "I like how I did that ending. Hooray for chap. 5! I also need help on deciding what Elizabeth's weapon should be. I'm stuck on a sword with wings, but I'd enjoy better ideas. Please help me!"

**Axel:** "You actually think they're still there?"

**Breezy:** "…. Axel, I'll give you a five second head start. 5…4…"

**Axel:** "Already gone!!!"


	6. Axel got in trouble

**Breezy:** "Demyx, would you say the disclaimer please?"

**Demyx:** "Breezy doesn't own KH or KH2 characters, places, or names, except for Elizabeth and her plotline."

**Breezy:** "Thank you, Demyx. ONWARD!"

* * *

The Oh-so-wonderful Xemnas decided to spoil my fun and give me two choices:

Wander around the castle, as long as I didn't break anything.

Stay in my room and not break anything.

I still didn't know the castle that well, so I usually only stayed in my room. After all, I didn't want to run alone into one of the scary higher-ups like Vexen or Sïax. When everyone else was at meetings, Naminé and I would play cards or wander around the castle, with her leading.

Xemnas was calling meetings more and more often, making most time boring. Course, Axel, Demyx, and Roxas could at least talk to someone. Naminé wasn't one to ask questions, except if it were important. One day we were playing gin rummy when she brought up the subject of where I used to live before the 'incident.'

"I lived at a farm." I casually answered.

"Did you own livestock?"

"Yup, 3 pigs, 1 horse, 2 cows and a barn cat. It was almost always loud in the barn."

"You know how to plant stuff and farm then, right?" Naminé asked.

"Yeah."

"I guess you'll get along with Marluxia, then." She chuckled.

I would have replied, if the door hadn't opened just then. Sïax stuck his head in the door and asked,

"Have either of you seen number eight?"

Naminé, like me, was also a bit scared when she saw Sïax. So, I being the 'fearless' friend, managed to stick out a "No." Accompanied with a shake of the head.

Apparently, that was good enough, because he ducked his head out and closed the door.

"What do you think he did now?" I asked Naminé. According to her, Axel was almost always in some kind of trouble. Naminé looked like she gave it some thought, and shrugged.

* * *

About ten minutes after we got back into our game, the door slammed open to reveal a panting Axel. He looked as if he'd run the hundred-meter dash in five seconds.

"Has Sïax come by?" He huffed.

"You just missed him. Why?" I asked.

Axel gave the ghost of a smile and said,

"Let's just say the dining room has been re-decorated: courtesy of me." Naminé gasped.

"You burnt the room down?!" She exclaimed.

"…You could put it that way…" was Axel's response.

Suddenly, Axel jolted when a knock came from the door. Without thinking, he dove behind my bed.

"Come in." I stated.

Roxas and Demyx casually walked in, Roxas saying, "I knew Axel would come here, so we came to congratulate him."

"On what?" Axel's head popped up from behind the bed.

"He set a new record: 'The Shortest possible time to tick off the higher-ups! Course, I had to put it out, but you guys should have seen all the colors…" Demyx said as he started to list all the colors he'd seen.

"In other words…?" I asked.

"Sïax is coming down the hall and should be here any minute." Roxas fearfully stated.

Sure enough, a knock came to the door three seconds later. Needless to say, three portals opened and closed in the blink of an eye.

"Three weeks of weapon-polishing, one month of dish-washing, _and _no portals for a week!" Exasperated a very ticked-off Axel.

"To me, it doesn't sound too harsh. I mean, it could be worse."

Demyx, Roxas, and I had been trying to cheer him up since he'd received his punishment. To this day, Demyx and Roxas both recall never seeing Sïax looking so proud of himself before. Roxas also said Vexen had given a sneer. Point is, Axel had been out of his usual cheery mood since.

"Yeah. At least you didn't get that mission to Land of Dragons." Demyx comforted. Everyone except me shuddered. Apparently, the music at that place got on one's nerves _fast_. Xigbar knew. He'd been there a few times to terrify the locals.

"Speaking of going places, when do you think this-" I pointed to my bandaged left wing, "is going to heal?"

Demyx and Axel exchanged a look, thought it over and said,

"Probably another week or so."

I sighed and flapped it a little, tightening every now and then.

"Where should we test it out?"

Demyx looked deep in thought, then snapped his fingers suddenly.

"How about the tower?"

"Tower?" I asked.

"Demyx, that's perfect! Height, a good chance of a breeze maybe…"

"I guess it's settled, then." Said Roxas.

"Tower?"

"Well, tell us when it feels better!" Axel said as he pushed Roxas and Demyx out of the room.

"…Tower?" I asked myself.

* * *

**Breezy:** "Man, I spent so much time on that one. And also, let me clear something up for future chapters. I don't know how it goes, but I'm going to guess Roxas left sometime just before CoM. I really don't know when he left, but I'm going to say it was before then. Also, while I was playing KH2 last week, The Land of Dragons' music really got on my nerves. Xigbar did NOT meet Sora at the Land of Dragons yet. In this story, Sora is still…. in a better place."

**Demyx:** "I really don't see why you're scared of her. She's actually okay."

**Axel:** "Says the kid who sets water buckets over my dressing room door every other day."

**Breezy:** "I've taught you well, Demyx."

**Axel:** "SO _THAT'S_ WHERE YOU GET IT FROM?!"


	7. I'm flying again!

**Breezy:** "Hmm…"

**Naminé:** "What's wrong?"

**Breezy:** "I'm running out of ideas…"

**Roxas:** "Well, we can't help, then. We'd be writing _your_ story. You wouldn't be working. And you need to, too."

**Breezy:** "Don't make me add you to my list, _Roxas_."

**Naminé:** "Umm, Breezy doesn't own KH, KH2, its characters, plot, or storyline. She only owns Elizabeth."

**Roxas:** "Speaking of which, where is she?"

**Breezy:** "Taking a _long_, well-deserved nap. I couldn't get her up at all, so she'll be there for a while."

**Naminé:** "I think we're stalling them from the chapter."

**Breezy:** "Yeah, I guess. Go ahead and read, like you need my permission. Oh, and sorry for the shortness. My brain's been dead lately."

* * *

Walking around the castle wasn't bad, as long as you still avoided the higher members. Not all the higher members were bad, though. Xigbar was okay, and if you caught Xaldin in a mood where he wouldn't stab you, he was almost normal. Zexion wasn't as unkind as he was creepy. Usually, you could only catch him with a book in hand. Ugh, I'm rambling again. 

Axel and I were walking down the castle floors, headed to the 'tower.' Why weren't we using a portal you ask?

Axel was still on 'probation.'

Chances were, if we used one, I'd toss my cookies. Not the chocolate-chip ones, either.

It took Axel a good fifteen minutes to open one of the _big_ doors out of the castle. After he managed to open it a good size, we stepped out.

The streets of The World That Never Was were small and empty. The only thing that could be heard was the low whispers of people in the homes. We were making a pretty good pace, and the tower was in sight.

CRASH

Suddenly, a tall, thin, white… thing jumped out of an alley and dove for me. Luckily, I tripped over my feet in surprise and it hit the ground instead. I heard Axel mutter something that sounded like a cuss, and he hit it with a small ball of fire. The ball took care of it, but there was a small problem:

There were more of them.

Axel threw me a small pipe to hold them off, and he summoned his charkams. About a minute later, I had my hands on my knees, gasping for breath.

"What… was that?"

"Dusks. They're weaker nobodies. Probably smelled a good heart and went straight for it. Remind me to give you a weapon when we get back."

We'd reached the 'tower' after fighting a few more dusks. Axel still couldn't use a portal, so we had to walk _aaallll_ the way to the top.

All 28 flights.

When we finally reached the top, I could feel a strong breeze blowing in our direction. Axel watched in amazement as I began a steady sprint- straight towards the edge. Without thinking of flapping, I jumped, Axel nearly falling over the edge as he watched.

Falling, falling,

I began to flap about two seconds after I jumped. Axel still watched only to see me rise, gathering altitude. Ah, the familiar sound of air rushing by my ears, the short stomach flips. How I'd missed it. You know, all of you should try flying sometime. Below me, I could see smoke coming out of chimneys, small patches of early morning fog, and the perfect scene for a painting.

After I'd had my fun, I landed shortly on the top of the building.

"That was amazing!" Axel said as he ran my way.

"Usually, I'll fly a little longer, but I don't want to lose my strength."

"It doesn't matter, it was still amazing!"

Axel kept bragging on me all the way back to the castle about how I looked and my 'performance.' He had a hard time explaining to Xemnas where we were, however.

* * *

It had been two weeks after our 'outing' and Demyx and Axel had just come back from a meeting. Axel looked, well, sad. Demyx seemed to be trying to cheer him up, only in vain. So, we spent the afternoon trying to cheer him up. Axel left a few hours later, leaving Demyx and me alone. Demyx sighed and said, 

"You probably want to know what going on, huh?"

"That would be nice."

Demyx sighed again, and tensed, as if he were bracing himself for an impact.

"It's Roxas. He's gone."

* * *

**Breezy:** "Oh!! A cliffie! Maybe if a get a review or two, I'll write some more. Now is the time I'd like to thank those of you who have reviewed. I can't do this without you guys! 

**Roxas:** "I'm gone?"

**Breezy:** "Yup. Amazing I've gotten this far, huh?"

**Roxas:** "Actually, I was wondering how you'll do without me in the story."

…

**Breezy:** "Is that a complement or an insult?"

**Roxas:** "Do you want to know?"

**Breezy:** "… Never mind. Please review everyone! Bye!"


	8. More sulking

**Breezy:** "See! I told you guys I'd update! Plus, it's LONGER! This is chapter 8, so let's see where it goes…"

**Sora:** "Hopefully somewhere good…"

…

**Breezy: **"Sora, I'll ask you one more time: What are you doing and how did you get here?"

**Sora:** "Honestly, I've got no idea. One minute I'm talking to Kairi and Riku, and then I'm-… where am I anyway?"

**Breezy: "**The plotline of KH and KH2 does not belong to me, blah, blah, but Elizabeth does. I'm serious all you con artists. You steal her and I'll bite your hand."

**Riku:** "Just get to the story."

**Breezy: **"How are you two getting here?"

* * *

The world had stopped. I was sure of it. The words from Demyx's one simple sentence had left an impact on me, heck, all of us. Axel refused to speak to anyone about it. In fact, I rarely saw him anymore.

After the meetings were over, Demyx would visit and we would talk. Demyx seemed just as shocked of it as Axel. Still, at least he would talk to someone about it.

Sometimes Naminé and I would walk around the castle and chat. If Naminé can't cheer you up, no one can. What worried me was the look of… dread on her face the whole time.

One day, Demyx came by as usual.

"Xemnas wants you. Right now."

Demyx conjured a portal (Which was _great_ news for my stomach!) and, as I desperately tried not to vomit, he held me up so I wouldn't pass out. Eventually, we reached what looked like a study, with a large window showing Kingdom Hearts through it. Demyx announced my arrival, gave me a look that said _'Good Luck.'_ and disappeared through one of the portals of blackness.

So, here I was in a big, dark room with Xemnas turned away from me, not knowing why I was there, with no one to back me up.

My first intention was to run.

A few minutes passed, and Xemnas turned to me. "Sit down." He commanded. Then I noticed he was pointing to a desk with a chair in front of it. He waited until I followed orders, and then sat down himself.

"I'm sure you have wondered-" he paused. "Why you are here." He stopped, waiting for an answer.

"Yes." I responded.

"Before we address that matter, I shall tell you of your past."

I stopped, thinking. "My…past?" I replied. Xemnas pointed to my back.

"Those. Don't you wish to know how they came to be? How you, unlike millions of other people, were chosen to wield such great and desired power: The gift of flight?"

Man, I was beginning to worry that no one would tell me. Why did I have two snowy white wings fastened on my back? Xemnas patiently waited for an answer.

"Yes." I stated. For a few seconds there was a silence.

"Do you know the story of the beginning?" Xemnas asked.

"No."

"Long ago, the world was united and filled with light. Humans enjoyed the light, and began to fight to the death over it. Darkness sought into hearts, and consumed the light of the humans. Still, after the world's destruction, fragments of light stayed in children's hearts, some of them transformed into yukojins. These beings helped in a war that followed. Many perished, while some survived. Those who did survive chose children that in the future, would inherit the powers and appearances of the first yukojins." Xemnas paused, allowing me to sink it in.

"It is believed that you are one of those children."

I stared at Xemnas until I had to look down. How? Sure, it would explain a few things, but it was a lot to take in. Above all, I wanted to ask him how he knew it all.

Xemnas waved his hand.

"Dismissed." He said, getting up. Then he walked over to the giant window as I headed for the door.

* * *

It took me a _long_ time to find my back to my room. Once I arrived at the hallway to it, Demyx stopped me.

"What took you so long?" He asked. "I know Xemnas can rant, but you were gone for _hours_."

"It took me a while to find this hallway, and I got lost. _Really _lost." I responded. "Axel any better?" I asked him.

"Don't know. Maybe we could go look."

And so, Demyx and I walked the corridors towards Axel's room, chatting as we moved.

"So, what did you talk about?" Demyx asked.

"Some story about the past having to do with me." I said.

"Oh." Demyx replied as we neared the door to Axel's room.

I knocked on it, only to be greeted with silence. "Axel, open up!" Demyx called. More silence. "Suit yourself." I said as I opened the door. The room was really dark, except for a lamp sitting on a desk, which Axel was slumped over. "Sleeping, probably." Demyx said as he poked Axel's arm. Axel twitched. I had to admit, he looked…cute while he was asleep.

"Guess we should leave if he's asleep…" Demyx pointed out after he'd stopped poking Axel. "Yeah." I agreed, and started walking to the door. Demyx followed, and I turned out the light as we left. Just before closing the door, I caught one last glimpse of Axel.

* * *

"You're leaving?!" I stood, shocked, staring at a worried Naminé.

"Yes."

"Why?!"

"I…I'm not sure." She stated.

Apparently, half of the organization was leaving to some place called 'Castle Oblivion,' including Axel and Naminé. Naminé seemed as if she didn't want to go. And, as I talked to her longer about it, she didn't.

"Then don't go!" I told her.

"It's not that easy." Naminé shook her head. "I'm needed to leave. That's all I know." What really worried me was…was I going to see her again?

"Will I see you again?" I asked her.

"Don't talk like that. We'll see each other again, I'm sure."

As far as I was concerned, being 'sure' didn't always mean yes.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow.

* * *

The day after Naminé, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Axel, Marluxia, and Larxene left, Xemnas recommended that I be watched, according to Demyx. Probably because I was worried about millions of things, and tempted to go find answers. A few of those questions were:

Was I going to see Naminé again, or Axel for that matter?

Where and how was Roxas, if (I dared think it) he was still alive?

Even though Xemnas explained some things, why was I here?

And don't even ask me about Luxord.

What I hated was that everywhere I went, there was always someone following me. Dinner, around the castle, or when I was doing nothing in my room. Thankfully, no one ever followed me into the bathroom. The worst part was that Siax or Xaldin usually watched me. Xaldin was just creepy. But, at least Xemnas cut me a break and didn't ask Luxord. Every once in a while it was Xigbar, and then we'd play gin rummy for hours.

Every passing day got more and more lonely. I can hear you thinking. _'But you're being watched just about every second of the day!'_ Yeah, but even though they were supposed to be watching me, it was like I was never there. Demyx isolated himself playing his sitar and practicing fighting, and I only saw him at meals. It's also lonely to sit next to four empty chairs three times a day.

* * *

Naminé wrote to me once, supposedly the first day she'd arrived.

_Elizabeth, _

_Today I've arrived at Castle Oblivion._

_Something is wrong._

_It seems as if I'm going to be used for a plan._

_I can't say much, in case someone reads this, but this may be my last letter to you for now._

_Someone's going to come to the castle._

_A young boy named Sora, and his two friends, Donald and Goofy._

_I have to rearrange their memories…_

_I know that I'm not supposed to feel emotion, let alone have the right._

_But still, if I could, I'd feel guilty…and scared._

_I don't want to cause sadness, Elizabeth._

_Please take care. Say hi to Demyx for me._

_Don't reply to this letter._

_Naminé_

Naminé worried me in her letter. What plan? Who were Sora, Donald, and Goofy?And what worried me most…

Why did she not want me to reply?

* * *

**Breezy:** "Ugh…"

**Naminé:** "What's wrong?"

**Breezy:** "I've got band camp this week, which is wiping me out, and school starts in a week. Even more importantly, I need to go buy supplies. I'm getting to bed at around 11 lately, and my room smells like paint, so I have to sleep on the couch. Also, this weekend I'll be with my friend, who I haven't seen in years, and then I'll get tortured by my English teacher."

**Naminé:** "Rough."

**Axel:** "Heh, nothing on my schedule."

**Breezy:** "That reminds me, Please look at my profile and tell me what you think of my story ideas I've posted on there. Just send me an E-mail saying if you want them put on as stories or not. Sadly, I won't be able to update this story for a while, maybe a week and a half. But I've got the first chapters of the stories I'm asking you about ready to put on. Now, Review!

**Axel:** "Oh Breezy, I fixed the water system."

**Breezy:** "Was it broken?"

**Axel:** "Maybe…maybe not…"


	9. With Headaches and Weapons

**Axel:** '_It's quiet… I wonder if she's mad…'_

…

**Axel**: "Um… they're here you know…"

…

**Axel:**_ 'Better do it quick, before they leave!'_ "Uh… hello! Breezy is a little miffed, so I guess I'll do the-"

**Breezy:** "You set up the water system to the ocean. I drank salt water for a week while I waited for the Plummer to come, since even _Demyx_ couldn't fix it. You think I'm only _miffed_?"

**Roxas:** "Axel, I think she's foaming at the mouth."

**Axel:** "Roxas, I hate it when you're right."

**Breezy:** "Before I kill Axel, I'll admit I don't own Kingdom hearts one or two. I don't own any character except Elizabeth. I do own the plot of this story. And wow, this is the…ninth chapter. Well. I thank all who have reviewed, because it helps and means so much! A few thanks to Green Raven for the weapon idea. If yours wasn't picked, then don't worry. I appreciate your ideas as well! Now Axel, run."

**Roxas:** "Wow, he's never run that fast before…"

A week passed, and Naminé didn't send me another letter. People in the organization were beginning to get anxious. No one from Castle Oblivion had sent a report, and before long, Vexen's plaque in Proof of Existence had faded to red. Not knowing what it meant, I asked Demyx about it.

"It's red?!" He answered hastily, and passed me without another word.

Demyx ran off towards it, and I followed him.

When I got there, I saw Demyx bent over Vexen's red plaque.

"What does it mean?" I asked lowly.

Demyx shook his head, as if he were trying to shake something away.

"It means…he's faded away."

"What?! Faded?"

Demyx sat down in front of me, as I did the same.

"You know we've already died, right? Lost our hearts, and that?"

I nodded. In a way, it was sad to hear Demyx say that.

"Instead of just dieing again, we… fade. Since we're beings of darkness."

'_You don't seem dark to me. You, Axel, Roxas, and Naminé.'_

"Elizabeth?"

"Huh?"

"You spaced out… sorta."

"Oh, sorry." I said as I gripped my head in confusion. Also because it hurt. _Hard._

"You okay?"

"No…" I tried to reply as things became black.

Crap. Remember when Axel first brought me here? My head hurt just about as hard as it had then. At least the something I was laying on was soft. Warm, too. It also smelled like… Rain?

It really hurt to open my eyes, so I kept them closed until the pain in my head got a bit better. I never said it didn't stop hurting, though. So, against the voices in my head that told me to go back to sleep, I opened my eyes. At first I was greeted with blackness, then it got better for me to see I was lying on a bed in a small, dark blue room. Even though the bed was warm, I felt… cold. Then, I realized that:

I was only wearing my underclothes.

And-

My head was wrapped in a bandage.

The third thing was that I was in Demyx's room. How did I know, you ask? His sitar sat in a corner, newly polished. Also, there were pictures of the sea on the walls. In a corner sat my clothes, looking as though they'd been thrown there without care.

Just as I comprehended what was happening, my head shot out into pain _again_, this time harder than the last. Then I realized pain was coming through my wings, too. Maybe it was because I was lying on them. As I shifted my weight and turned, I froze.

Sitting across me, in a chair and apparently sleeping, was a body. A body that looked tall, stick-thin, and had flaming red spiky hair. So, me being the talk-before-thinking idiot like I am, I called out.

"Axel?"

Axel immediately jerked up his head

"What?"

I lowered my head, since I had forgotten what I was going to say. Then, I realized that a good part of chest was visible where I had lowered the blanket. Blushing, I brought it back up. Axel chuckled to himself and said,

"If you're wondering about the clothes, don't worry. Demyx didn't and neither did I. I asked a few dusks to do it. And I don't think they would have done something, either."

That cleared some things up, but… "Axel, why are you here? I thought that you weren't allowed-"

"What Marluxia doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, it was getting boring there. So, imagine my surprise as I see Demyx walking down the hall with you unconscious in his arms. He said you had passed out, and was taking you to Zexion, since Vexen's gone. So, I volunteered to go with him."

"And what did Zexion say?"

Axel's smile faltered a bit.

"He said you'd get better, but just as he was about to say more, you sort of…went mad or something. You ran around the room, clutching your head and crashing into things. After we tried to calm you down, you fell on the floor and hit your head. That's why the bandage is there."

"I did that?" I asked him.

The door was knocked, and opened to reveal Demyx standing with a glass of water in hand.

"Good, you're up!" He said as he handed me the water. I downed it all in one gulp. Never had I realized that passing out was thirsty work.

"You guys can't tell anyone I've been here. After all, I'm not supposed to be. Got it memorized?"

Demyx and I nodded. Taking it as a yes, Axel fwooshed away into blackness.

"Thanks for letting me stay in your room." I sheepishly thanked Demyx.

"Anytime. If you need help, I can get you back to your room."

"Thanks."

Another plaque turned red the next day, it being Larxene's. I'll mention that I also had headaches when that happened, too. It was a while before another went down, Lexaeus this time. Demyx and I hoped that Axel, Naminé, or any other members would make it back. Demyx was worried that something may happen soon, so one day he decided to help me with choosing a weapon.

So, the next morning, we portaled down to the grounds. I swear, I _hate_ portals. We walked until we found a place that the heartless couldn't reach, and sat down. Demyx told me to relax, and said:

"Just concentrate. Imagine something that you can fight with, and it'll come to you."

Saying it was one thing. _Doing_ it was another. Thoughts of weapons flashed through my head as I concentrated. Then a picture that flashed through stay put. It was a medium sized bow, colored in a white with specks of blue. Soon an arrow appeared next to it, with a pure white body and sky blue head, which was shaped like a razor sharp feather. Suddenly as they appeared, they disappeared, replaced with a blinding white light.

I opened my eyes, only to feel something light in my hands in my hand. Demyx had a look of thrill on his face, and motioned to my hand. There sat the bow and arrow. Seconds later, a silver-blue bag with a strap materialized onto my back, filled with the feather-arrows.

"I did it!" I cried.

"Great! Now try using them." Demyx said, teleporting away a few feet and pointing to a target that popped out of nowhere. I stood, faltered a bit, and pointed. After aiming, I took a shot. Amazingly, it hit the dead center of the board, which split in half. Demyx stared at it, speechless, and spoke up.

"You've got it."

We kept practicing for another hour, working on summoning and dismissing. I did pretty well, for a first try. So, after I did my best, we stopped and went back to the castle for brunch. After that, Demyx went back to his room and I practiced in the grounds more.

I had reached my peak, and was really tired. So, I walked back towards the castle around sunset. Just as I reached Memory's Skyscraper, a shadow jumped in front of me and started to attack, as more arrived. For a minute, I was worried, when I remembered I had a weapon. Summoning my bow and arrows, I flew above them all to stop getting hit. I was surprised. I shot down half of them, and then flew on to the castle.

Demyx was standing on the Brink of Despair, waiting for me. He looked amazed as I landed. "Wow," he said. "You're good at flying. Anyways, I came looking for you, since you're late for dinner."

"I am? What are we having?"

"Uh, dunno… I think it's 'raid the pantry' night."

We walked off towards Crooked Ascension, and the Nobodies didn't pay me any mind since I was with Demyx. Thankfully…

Dinner was short, and I went to my room after it. Demyx followed me, since if Xemnas found out I was in the city without someone else, he'd injure me heavily.

Kingdom Hearts shone its light in through my window before I fell asleep.

Naminé crossed my mind even more as Lexaeus' plaque faded to red as well. Now only Axel, Marluxia, and Zexion were left. We'd gotten nothing from Axel or Naminé, and Axel didn't risk stopping by anymore. Demyx was worried that Castle Oblivion would eventually be destroyed, and we wondered what the outcome of this all would be.

**Breezy:** "Guess what guys! I got almost to the end of the game last night! I got to the final…stage…at 1:53 this morning. I cried when I died. I really did. But that means that I'm getting better! Anywho, school starts tomorrow for me, so I won't be able to update for a while. Homework, and all that. Plus, my English teacher is supposed to be evil! Wish me luck!"

**Sora:** "We'll cheer for ya!"

**Breezy:** "Kairi, come get Sora. No, I don't know how he got here, just pick him up."

**Sora:** "I think I know where I am… I'm-"

**Breezy:** "Please review!"


	10. Time passes quickly

**Breezy:** "Well, well. We're on the tenth chapter! Cookies will be served in the review room after you read this chapter and review! I don't own anything but my OC and her plotline. Oh, and I own a few notebooks, too."

**Demyx:** "You like these, don't you?"

**Breezy:** "What? Those yearbooks? Yes. You all better like this one. I'm typing it at night. It's about 11:00 right now, and I'm tired. I've had and am going to have a lot of work this week, since I've started school. I'm not bragging when I say this, but I'm in every advanced class possible for me! In a way, it's good and it's bad. The only thing I may not like this year is that all my friends are in a different class. I'm not gonna go into details, since I'm getting ahead of myself. Grab a pack of honey grams and go read!"

* * *

As I'm pretty sure you guys can imagine, Demyx and I were growing more and more concerned about the plaques in the Proof of Existence. Days passed, growing in tension. Eventually, Demyx was called to a meeting, and I wasn't allowed to go in. So, I waited in my room for some, any news about what was going on. About an hour later, Demyx finally arrived, hood up.

"What happened?" I asked as he took it off and sat on my bed next to me. "That kid, Sora, happened. Marluxia's dead."

A pang of pain in my head shot out, but it disappeared soon.  
"Then, Naminé…?" I asked. Demyx shrugged. "Don't know. She wasn't mentioned."

I hung my head. If Naminé was dead… "What about Axel?"

"He isn't back yet. He should be soon, since the leader at that post is gone." "Yeah. Zexion was there too, right? What about him?" "He should turn up soon, too."

While Demyx was at the meeting, I had thought of some things… and was debating whether I should tell him about them or not.

"Demyx, I think I need to leave."

Demyx was understanding about it, and decided to help me get out. He said that being in the world that never was would be out of the question; the organization would easily be able to find me. We decided that a place called Twilight Town would work out, and made plans to go in a week.

A week later, we both stood in front of a portal, and I only held a few things in my arms. The picture of the clouds, the note, the letter from Naminé, and a book from the castle library, something having to do with the story of the beginning. Demyx and I, in secret, had found a small apartment for rent in the town, and decided it was a good rate. Today, I would move to the apartment without anyone but Demyx knowing.

We both knew that if Xemnas found out it was Demyx that had helped me escape, the punishment was unimaginable. Still, Demyx kept by me. So, we stepped through the portal, and I actually didn't faint. Almost, but I didn't. We arrived in front of a small building that had old orange-red bricks. The sun was setting behind us, with a beautiful view. I opened the door to the building, to see the light inside was just about as bright as the sky. A couch sat in front of a small fireplace, which wasn't lit. On the other side of the room, a man sat at a desk, apparently asleep. He looked pretty old, probably in his late 70's. Demyx rang the bell on the desk, and the man jolted up, wide-awake. He surveyed us, and then spoke.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm here to rent the room upstairs." I said. The man kept taking long glances at my back and then at Demyx. Thankfully, I was wearing a long jacket, which should hide a pair of wings. Still, the man seemed as if he knew something.

"Ah, the spare room. Follow me, please." He said, starting to get up. The man shuffled towards a staircase, and slowly climbed. We followed him, glancing up as we went up the staircase. He reached a landing soon, and showed me the hall and the door to the room I'd be staying in.

"Oh! I've forgotten my manners. My name is James. And yours?" The man asked.

"I'm Elizabeth, and this is Demyx." Demyx gave a small wave and continued looking around. I opened the door to the room, and was greeted with a bright light. The room was painted a bright orange, with a bay window in front of a bed. A bookshelf stood to the left, and a mirror and dresser to the right. The forever-setting sun stood out the window, causing the light.

"It's beautiful!" I exclaimed. James chuckled and said aloud:

"My wife Dora painted it. The woman put her soul into decorating this room. The bathroom is down the hall to the left, second door down. Your rent won't be much, since you're a minor. If you could help Dora and I around the house, that would be more than enough for your rent."

"I can agree to that. Thank you!" I said. A few minutes later, I was all moved in. Demyx was just about to leave when I caught his hand. "Thanks." I simply stated. "Don't mention it." He replied. It still didn't feel right. Thus, I hugged him. I think I caught Demyx off guard, because he froze, then slowly put his arms around me and squeezed back. We broke apart, and Demyx left.

* * *

Time passes quickly…

* * *

I put the last load of laundry into the dryer for Dora. It had been just about a year since I had moved in, and I had only seen Demyx once. He had said that Zexion was dead as well, but he didn't know about Naminé. Axel had been the one to kill Vexen and Zexion. He had received heavy punishment, but it went lighter when it was discovered that the younger members had been planning to overthrow the organization, in vain. James and Dora had treated me like family, and I loved it here. Still, sometimes I'd sit in my bed and worry about home and everyone I had known. Amy, Lindsey, Mary, Susan. Where were they, and were they all right?

James and Dora had found out about me about a month after I moved in. It felt so good after they knew. They both swore to keep it secret. I was able to practice flying very rarely, but at least I got to do it. A birthday had come and passed, so I was now 15. My hair had grown longer, and my accuracy for my archery was almost near perfect.

"Liz, did you finish?" A voice came from the room next to me, and I was jerked out of my daydream. "Yeah, the clothes are washed, and now they're drying." I said to Dora. She entered the room, a small purse in her hand. Dora was a short, skinny woman, about 74. Her hair was put into a tight bun today, like it usually was, and she wore a blue sundress.

"Then I'm taking you shopping. Your clothes are getting too short! I remember when you first came here…" Dora spaced out, and I shook her out of it. Dora did that a lot. "Anyway, I'm taking you shopping." I opened my mouth to refuse but Dora beat me to it. "No, I insist. You've done so much for James and I, It's the least I could do." I smiled. "Thanks, Dora."

We walked down Market Street, heading out of a small store. Dora had bought me new clothes, and offered to mend them to fit my wings, if I wanted it. I said I would, and we turned towards Tram common to board the train back home.

Dora stopped in the middle of the road, staring in front of me. I turned, to find a short, black figure with _very _big, round ears. He wore an organization uniform, but before I could ask, he stopped me. "Take this. If you meet some people named Sora, Donald, and Goofy, then give this to them, tell them to take the train, and go with them. The train knows the way." Before I could ask anything, he handed me a pouch and ran off. Dora came up to me and asked: "Was that a friend of yours?"

"No…I don't think so…"

"Come on, we'll go home."

Sora…Donald…Goofy…why did those names seem familiar?

The next morning, I woke up, took a quick shower, and got dressed. I felt that I wouldn't see this place again for a while. I ate breakfast with James and Dora, and announced I'd be around the city.

I walked down Station Heights, heading towards the usual spot. Hayner, Pence, and Olette had become some good friends of mine the time I'd been here. Sometimes, we'd have a dart game. I was outside the red curtain when I heard voices.

"Nothing, just wondering what was back here." Someone I didn't know said. He sounded like a boy, and I opened the curtain out of curiosity.

Hayner, Pence, Olette, and three people I didn't know looked towards me as I walked in.

A brown haired boy that looked my age wore an outfit that was defiantly too small for him, a duck wearing a blue vest, and a dog wearing a green shirt and yellow pants and a vest. "Hey Liz." Pence greeted. "Bout' time you showed up." Hayner said. Usually he was like that. "Hayner." Olette scolded him. "Who are you three?" Pence asked. "Oh, sorry, we're Sora-" He pointed to the boy- "Donald-" He pointed to the duck- "And Goofy-" He pointed to himself. Hayner, Pence and Olette looked at each other and exchanged looks. "Sora, Donald, Goofy," Olette spoke. "We just saw someone looking for you."

"What did he look like?" Sora asked. "He was wearing a hood, so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big, round ears." Pence answered. "The king!" Donald cried out. "It's gotta be!" Sora joined in. "I saw the same guy." I said. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked towards me. "Oh, I'm Elizabeth." "That reminds me, who are you guys?" Sora pointed towards the other three.

"My name's Olette!"

"I'm Pence!"

"Hayner. But we've got some things to do, so see you later." Haner walked off, looking miffed.

"Anyway, where'd you see him?" Sora asked.

"At the Station." Pence replied.

"I saw him at Tram Common yesterday." I said.

"What'd he say?" Donald asked.

"He said to get on the train." Donald glared. "Which train?" He asked.

"He didn't say, just said: 'The train knows the way.'"

Sora got into a thinking pose. "Well, we need to go work on the project. Later!" Olette walked off. "See you!" Pence said, following Olette. "You guys better head towards the station. But if you want to know more about this town, then go to the Sandlot." I told them. "Umm…where's the sandlot?" Sora asked. "I'll show you. Come on!" I said, starting to run off. The three followed as I ran towards the sandlot.

Seifer and his gang were in their usual corner as we walked in. Sifer must have heard us, because he shot his head up. "Hey you, where'd you come from?" Seifer motioned towards Sora, Donald, and Goofy. " And what's a pretty face like yours around three newbies?" One of the things I hated about Seifer was that he always tried to hit on me. I gave him a scowl. "You here to pick a fight with us or something?" Seifer asked the other three.

"Fight? We're not here to fight." Sora answered. "Yeah, you big palooka!" Donald continued. "Don't antagonize him." I told Donald. "Okay, smartalecks… time to teach you how to behave in my town. Bring it!" Seifer got into a fighting pose. "Man, what a jerk." Sora stated. "Tell me about it." I replied. Sora and I both got into another fighting pose.

"One moment!" A voice called out behind us. Frank, the struggle referee, came running up in front of us. Seifer and his crew dropped the stance, and so did we. "If you're going to fight, why not make it a proper struggle?"

"What?" Seifer asked.

"You see, Seifer…I'm a really big fan."

"W-what do you want?"

"In other words, I want to see some more of your 'super awesome' moves! You handled the struggle tournament with style, and you really dominated the title match. I just can't get enough, you see?" Seifer had won the struggle matches a few days ago, and had bragged about it since. I'd even gone up against him, but I really did let him win. 'Isn't this romantic' had gotten on my nerves after a while. Frank turned towards Sora. "And what's your name?"

"Sora."

"Sora, if you want to fight a match, just say the word." Seifer knew that it was over, so he and his group walked back to their corner.

* * *

"Come on, you're headed towards the station, right?" I asked. Sora nodded. "Then let's go!"

We reached the Station Plaza a few minutes later, panting from running up the steep hill. I made it half way to the door, when something appeared in front of me. More dusks jumped out from the ground and surrounded us. Sora conked his head at them, and then all three pulled out a weapon. Donald a staff, Goofy a shield, and Sora had some…key. I summoned my bow and arrows just in time before the dusks attacked.

My arrows were pretty dead center, and defeated a good number of those that attacked us. Still, more and more appeared, and Sora called out. "There's too many of them!" And he plopped down next to Donald and Goofy. I staggered, then joined them One in front of Sora shook, and started to attack. All of the sudden, something jumped in front of Sora to block the blow. It hit the rest of the dusks, and landed in front of Sora. He had something like Sora's weapon, only with different colors. Sora started in awe, and then toppled down when Donald and Goofy landed on top of him to get a better look. "Your majesty?" Donald and Goofy asked.

"Shhh! It replied. You gotta board the train now. The train should take you where you need to go." It looked at me. "Thank you, and remember to go with them." Donald, Sora and Goofy looked at me. Donald looked back, but called out. "Your majesty!" It was running back down the hill. "That…was that the king?" Sora asked. "It coulda been…yup! I know it was!" Goofy replied. "Now we know he's okay!"

Sora went on. "The king was locked behind the door to the realm of darkness, right?" "Uh huh." Goofy answered. "But we just saw him… and if the king's here, Riku's gotta be here, too!" "He must be!" Donald said. "Who's Riku?" I asked. "He's my friend. I'm gonna go look for Riku. What are you guys going to do?" He asked Donald and Goofy. "Oh…" They said at the same time. "Gawrsh, Sora… did you have to ask?" Sora and I laughed. "Hey, what's so funny!?" Donald yelled "Your faces!" I replied. Donald and Goofy looked at each other, and started to laugh. "So I guess we'll stick together for one more adventure!" Sora said. "Elizabeth should come, too!" Goofy announced. "W-what?" I said. "The king told you to come with us, right?" Donald asked. "So…to where again?" Sora asked. "We hafta board the train!" Goofy said. "Oh Yeah!" Donald sighed.

"Come on!" Sora called as he ran into the station. Donald, Goofy, and I followed suit.

We were in front of the ticket stand, when Hayner called behind us. "Wait up!" He yelled Pence and Olette following him.

"Sora?"

"What?"

"Nothing, but…"

"We came to see you off! It just seemed like something we had to do." Pence said.

"Really? Thanks!"

The bell for the train rang. "You better buy your tickets!" Olette warned. "Right!" Sora replied. "Oh!" I said aloud. "Sora, here." I reached for the pouch in my pocket and handed it to him. Olette gasped, and reached for her pocket. She took out the same pouch. Goofy spoke. "They're the same." He wondered aloud. "Yeah." Olette said. Sora turned to the ticket seller. "Four tickets, please." He paid the munny, then turned to the stairs. A dark blue train with stars pulled into the station.

"I can't help but feel like we won't see this town again…" Sora stated sadly. Hayner, Pence, and Olette stared. "Why not?" Donald asked. "You're thinkin' too much." Goofy told him. "Yeah, you're right!" Sora replied, a smile forming on his face. Donald and Goofy walked up the stairs, and Pence and Olette followed. "Sorry I was so cold before." Hayner apologized. "That's okay." Sora smiled. We walked up the steps. Pence came over to us. "It's weird…I feel like we should see you guys off for some reason…Like I have to say goodbye to someone I've been waiting to see…"

Donald and Goofy were waiting in front of the door to the train. "Let's go!" I said. They nodded, and Sora turned. "Goodbye!" he stated. Hayner spoke up. "Hey, Sora. Are you sure we haven't met before?" Sora looked as though he thought about it. "Positive…why do you ask?" Hayner shook something off and said, "I dunno."

"Could you guys tell Dora and James that I'm going?" I asked Olette and Pence. "Sure!" Olette hugged me. Sora smiled, but then a tear ran down his cheek. Hayner's eyes widened. "Huh?" Sora said to himself as he wiped it away. "You okay? Olette asked. "Get it together…" Hayner told him. "Yeah, don't know where it came from. Anyway…see ya!" Sora called as he backed into the train. "Good bye, guys." I stated, and turned to go into the train. I waved as the door closed and the train moved off. Pence ran a little bit after it, then stopped and looked back to Hayner and Olette.

The train moved across the country, and Sora took out a blue ball that had been in the pouch. "You know…" He said. Donald, Goofy and I looked towards him. "I'm sad." He continued. We shared a look, and Donald said: "We'll be back!" "Yeah, we can see Hayner and those guys again!" Goofy added. "Yeah." I agreed. Sora smiled and turned back to the window.

* * *

**Breezy:** "Wow. That was long!"

**Axel:** "That's the longest you've ever done."

**Breezy:** "Cookies will be served in the review room, but only if you review! Bye!"


	11. The first path

**Breezy:** "Man, I've had a hectic week. You guys are lucky I'm updating right now. It's really late, and I need to wake up early tomorrow morning."

**Naminé:** "Where will you be?"

**Breezy:** "Some convention or something. It starts at 7, so I need to wake up at five to get there. KH and KH2 don't belong to me, even in my dreams. My OC does belong to me, however, and probably always will. Oh, I've got an idea for a new story, and I want you all to check it out. It's on my profile. Well, no delaying you longer… Go and read!"

* * *

The train stopped at an island in a sea of clouds. In the center of the island, there stood a large, crooked tower that had stars and moons on it like the train. The door opened, and we got off. Sora looked back at the train. It slowly disappeared to nothing, and Sora chuckled nervously. 

"There goes our ride…" He said. I laughed to myself, and we walked towards the door to the tower.

"What's going on?" Donald asked, looking at the large (as in fat) body blocking the doors to the tower. It spoke.

"I sent I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of this here tower's as big and tough as they say. Word is, he's a real powerful sorcerer. Which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me. See, it don't matter how tough he is---once he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say!"

"A heartless?!" Donald and I shouted at the same time. "That's right. They're those things that come outta the darkness in folks' hearts. Why, with all those Heartless at her side, my dear friend Maleficent is gonna conquer everything! And since I got me a debt to pay, I'm goin' 'round to a bunch of different worlds and buildin' an army of Heartless, special for her.

"Why am I talkin' to you pipsqueaks anyway? Go on, scram! I'm behind schedule as

it is." It continued. Goofy spoke his mind. "You oughta find somethin' nicer to do."

"Oh Ho! Says who?" The fat thing turned. He wore a large blue/ red jumpsuit…That looked too small for him. Mr. Fatso didn't look a bit pretty, and his voice didn't help. "WhaaAAA…. It's YOU!" He yelled, pointing to us.

"Pete?" Donald and Goofy stepped back. "What are you two nimrods doin'n here?"

"What are YOU doing here?" Donald retorted. "Do you guys know him?" I asked the two.

"We sure do," Goofy replied, "Pete's been causin' trouble for ages! His Majesty banished

him to another dimension a long time ago. I wonder how he escaped…"

'Pete' laughed. "You wanna know how, eh? Well, Maleficent busted me out, that's how! And now your world---no, no, no, all the worlds---are gonna belong to yours truly. Cause Maleficent's gonna help me conquer 'em!"

"Maleficent…huh." Sora said, then started to laugh. Donald and Goofy joined him. "What are you laughin' at?! Why, Maleficent's power is so great-"

"She's toast." Sora cut off.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, but Maleficent can't help you now."

"Whaddaya mean!?" Pete babbled. Donald sniggered.

"You! So _you're_ the ones that did it!" He pointed at us.

"Well…we might have had something to do with it…" Sora put his hands on his head.

Pete fumed and started to yell. "Heartless Squad! Round up!" Sure enough, a bunch of shadows jumped out of the ground, and we summoned our weapons. In a matter of minutes, the last shadow was gone, and Pete yelled again. "You just wait! Nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the mighty Pete!"

"Well then, 'Mighty' Pete," I said, "Who lives in this tower anyway?"

"Oh…so you don't know eh? Well, it's old Yen Sid. 'Course he's probably a

Heartless by now!"

"Master Yen Sid lives here!?" Donald jumped and started running to the tower.

"Yen Sid is the King's teacher." Goofy told Sora and I. "Wow…sounds powerful." Sora stated, then ran after Donald. As we all ran to the tower, Pete threw a fit and left.

* * *

The door to the tower opened pretty easily. We walked up the winding steps to be interrupted by a large portal blocking the steps. Donald ran in, Sora following. Goofy went next, and I got to the beginning until something strong pulled me back and covered my mouth. I looked up, to see…more blackness. Is it just me, or is this place filled with black? The figure, I could tell it was a man, gripped my shoulders and felt along my back. If I could have, I would have kicked him where the sun _did not_ shine, but he was pretty strong, and probably ground me into a pulp. Never the less, I kicked as hard as I could, then bit _hard_ on his hand. He pulled it away, and I took my chance. Guess what? He was wearing a big, black cloak. Thus, I ran into the portal and fought my way through some shadows to catch up to Sora and the others. 

When I got to the top floor, there was only one other door to go through. I opened it, and found myself alone in the room except for an old man with blue robes and hat staring out a window shaped like a moon.

"Your friends are in the other room." He stated. "I take it you are Elizabeth?"

"Yes. Are you Yen Sid?"

'Yen Sid' nodded and turned to me. "You already know what you are, do you?" I nodded. "A yukojin. But, should I tell them? I mean, what if…" I trailed off. Yen Sid moved his hands and conjured a book, which flew to me. On the cover was an empty chair, leaning against a floor. "This book will tell you what you need to know. Keep it safe. As for Sora and the others…" He cut off. "Tell them everything. They need to know."

Sora opened the door then. Now he was dressed in a black, red, yellow, and blue outfit. Why he needed belts on the pockets, I don't know. "Elizabeth? Where were you? You didn't follow us." "I got held back."

Yen Sid motioned us to the window and pointed out of it. A big red thing resembling a spaceship floated into view. "The Gummi Ship!" Donald shouted. "So, everyone ready to go?" Sora turned to us. We nodded. "Now, now. Wait just a moment," Yen Sid told us, "Because of your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared."

"How do we get around?" Donald asked.

"Do not fear. If what the King suspected proves true, the worlds have prepared new pathways along which you may travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I'm afraid I do not know... However, the Keyblade will serve as your guide. When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblade, return to the Gummi Ship. Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts." Yen Sid continued.

"Our hearts are connected…" Sora wondered.

"That is correct."

"Got it!"

"But be warned. As you proceed... The Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths: Corridors of darkness, to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between the worlds.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Donald shouted.

"Now then, that is all the information I can give to you. Go forth, Sora, Elizabeth, Donald, and Goofy. Everyone is waiting."

We looked at each other. "Master Yen Sid!" Donald gave a salute. "We sure do appreciate the help." Goofy continued and followed Donald down the stairs. I was happy to find no Black coat dude or Fatso at the bottom. Sora helped me into the ship, which was pretty darn big, if you're right next to it. He then jumped into the pilot seat, and took off.

* * *

"Only one?" Sora said looking at the map and then the interspace before us. "Wait! I think it's a world we know!" Goofy shouted from the gun pit. I'd been telling them about my back, and thankfully, Sora and the others didn't seem very fazed by it. Sora looked it over, then moved in for a landing. Seeing as I'd been gripping my seat the whole way there, I braced for one _heck_ of an impact. 

"So, this place is called Hollow Bastion?" I asked. Sora nodded. "It looks kinda different now…" Goofy said. "I hope Leon and everyone's doing okay." Donald brought up. Goofy looked up, and pointed to a few soldiers disappearing into their portals. "Uh-oh. Looks like we'll have to do some fightin'."

We walked through the marketplace and borough, and stepped back when a column of light appeared and disappeared in front of me. "What's going on?" Donald asked.

"That's the town's defense mechanism." A voice called from above us. Sora looked around and shouted. "Yuffie!" He said to a girl looking a little older then me dressed in black with a headband on. She smiled, and looked back. "Look out!" She called, pointing behind us. A Dusk flashed into view, and more showed up. The defense mechanism took care of them, though. 'Yuffie' jumped down to us once the last one disappeared. "I see you're still in top form." She said. "What'd you expect?" Sora asked. "Looks like you're doing okay." "Well, what'd YOU expect?" "How are the others?" Donald asked. "Great!"

"Hey, Yuffie, have you seen the king and Riku?"

"Nnnope." Sora sighed. Yuffie ran ahead of us and turned back.

"But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again!"

Sora smiled and put a hand up. "'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other.'"

"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Donald and Goofy laughed.

"Umm…I don't think we've met." Yuffie asked me. "Right. I'm Elizabeth, Liz for short." "Nice to meet you! Everyone's working at stuff over at Merlin's! C' mon!" Yuffie ran ahead of us towards a wooden door, and went in.

"Welcome to the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" Yuffie waved a had towards three other people and herself. A tall woman turned to us. "We missed you!" She said. A man with rough blond hair turned around in his chair. "Well, if you ain't in top shape." He said, moving a toothpick in his mouth. "I knew it." Spoke a tall man with a scar running across his face.

"Knew what?" replied Sora. "A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time." He continued. I took it that this guy was 'Leon.' "You...remembered? Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us!?" Sora asked.

"Thanks!" Donald huffed. "So, where've you guys been all this time?" Yuffie asked. "We were sleepin'." Goofy replied. "Where? In cold storage?" retorted the man at the computer.

"It doesn't matter. This is great. Everyone's together again!" Said the woman in pink. She had long brown hair, tied in a braid. "So, um...we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen 'em?" Sora The three shook their heads. "Oh…right." Sora said. "Sorry. But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?" Sora smiled and looked up. "Okay. Thanks!" The man with a toothpick got up into Sora's face. "Don't go thakin' us just yet."

"Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem." Leon said. "You mean like…Nobodies? And Heartless?" "That's right!" Yuffie answered. "Sounds like you could use our help, then." I said. "Sorry, but who are you?" The brown haired woman asked. "Oh, sorry. I'm Elizabeth." "I'm Aerith." "Cid." "It's Leon. "Then let's cut to the chase. Sora, Elizabeth, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the four of you might give us a hand around here." "Like we're gonna say no?" Replied Sora. "Hmph. I forgot who I'm dealing with." "What do you mean by that?" Donald asked. "Just think of it as a 'Leon complement.'" Aerith said. Leon moved to the door. "Follow me to the bailey. There's something you need to see." He said as he walked out the door. Suddenly, a poof of blue appeared and a man with a long white beard was standing in the doorway.

"Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time!" He said.

"Merlin!" Donald greeted.

"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!" Yuffie told him.

"Splendid! We'll count on you!"

"Right!" We said. Merlin turned to Aerith. "Did you give them the cards, dear?"

"Oh!" Aerith reached into her pocket. "Here. There're presents for you; from Leon." She took out four cards, wrote names on them, and gave them to us. Sora turned his over. "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!" He said.

"Membership cards!" Donald shouted. "Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy asked. "Hey, thanks Leeea…huh?" Sora turned to the door. "Oh no! We're supposed to be at the bailey!"

"Just a moment, Sora. What about your magic?" Merlin asked.

"Huh? Oh…right…" Sora crossed his arms.

"Maybe you forgot them while you were sleeping!" Yuffie suggested.

"Now, what am I to do with you? I suppose I'll have to lend you a few spells. But be careful with them!"

Merlin handed Sora a small token. "Thanks, Merlin!" Merlin approached me. "Maybe you should learn a few, as well dear." He handed me a few tokens. "Use them carefully!" He warned. "To the bailey! And fast!" Donald ran out the door and fought off a few heartless. Goofy and Sora followed, and I was about to. Aerith pulled me back and handed me a backpack. "Here. For keeping everything safe."

"Thanks!" I said, and ran out the door. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Leon were looking towards a large, broken down castle surrounded in black. When I looked closer, I could make out many, _many _heartless in the mote to the castle.

"And that-" Leon pointed to two dusks waking towards the castle. "We'll handle 'em!" Sora assured.

"Well, that's good to hear. So Sora---do you know what's going on, then?" "There's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless. But he's not smart enough to tie his own shoes. The ones we need to worry about are the Nobodies."

"And those Organization XIII guys in charge, too!" Goofy added. A large booming voice cut him off.

"_You called?"_

Everyone looked around for the voice, which I knew was Xemnas. Sora ran into an open area next to the bailey and looked around.

"_You're doing well." _Siax calmly spoke. If only I could tell them!

"Who's that?" Sora yelled, his Keyblade flashing into view.

"_This calls for a celebration..." _Xemnas spoke again. Dusks appeared suddenly, left and right. I took out my arrows, and got into a fighting stance. The gates to the town closed, and the dusks started to attack it. I shot down a lot of them, but they still appeared. Finally, Sora finished off the last one and ran back into the clearing.

"_The Keyblade...a truly marvelous weapon. Were it only in more...capable hands..."_

Xemnas appeared, hood up, on a wall facing us. He raised his arms, and the rest of the Organization appeared. I could tell which one was Demyx, but Axel wasn't there. They laughed.

"Organization XIII!" Goofy shouted.

"Good! Now we can settle this!" Sora yelled.

"_What a shame... And here I thought we could be friends." _Xemnas continued speaking. They laughed again, and disappeared. "Stop!" Donald shouted, starting to run down a pair of stairs. Suddenly, A figure appeared; that I could tell was Xigbar. Donald looked at him, at the wall he was at, and back. "What's the big idea?!" He yelled, conjuring his staff.

"Oopsy-daisy!"

"Move!" Sora yelled.

"Now, do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?" Xigbar also had his hood up, but I could tell he looked at me. Xigbar straightened up, and portaled away. A second later, he was above me, and grabbed my arm.

"Hey!" I shouted, which was then muffled by his hand over my mouth. He began to lift me, and then I kicked him right where I mentioned earlier. Xigbar groaned and jumped back, letting me go in the process. He landed on the ground, still upright, and straightened.

"Be good, now." He said, disappearing.  
"Wait!" Donald shouted, jumping to where he'd been. "Nuts. He got away."

"That was strange. Why did he want Liz?" Sora asked.

"Maybe he was trying to mess with us." Goofy recommended.

"Probably." _'Or maybe they want me back.' _I thought. Sora took out his card.

"The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member."

Suddenly, the card glowed and lifted into the air. The Keyblade moved and glowed as well.

"What?" Leon asked.

"Gawrsh…ya think…?"

Sora lifted the Keyblade and jumped back. A crown of light, as wind blowed around us, suddenly surrounded him. Suddenly, everything went black as it got bigger.

* * *

I saw my self a long time ago, laying on a rug in a room. I looked about two or so, and had sweat on my forehead. My clothes were ripped, and feathers lay strewn around the room. I realized it was a memory as soon as a younger Amy rushed into the room, hair askew. She ran to pick me up, but nearly dropped me when she saw what was on my back. The younger me cried, and the memory faded. I opened my eyes, and found I was lying on the ground. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Leon and the others were around me. "Gawrsh, Liz, are you okay?" Goofy asked. "Yeah…" I said, getting to my feet. "You sure?" Sora asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." 

Leon nodded and spoke as Sora opened his mouth. "Organization XIII... They look tough. Be careful out there."

"Well, we better get going then, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah. See you soon, guys!" Sora waved to Leon and the others and turned, starting to run back to the ship. Leon saluted us as we ran back as well.

We boarded the ship again, and found two more worlds on the map. I turned to look back, and noticed something important. Twilight town was surrounded by a black mass, slowly disappearing. "What's wrong with Twilight Town?" I asked. "It's Gone!" Goofy yelled.

* * *

**Breezy:** "…Wow. Eight pages. That is the longest I've ever done." 

**Sora: **"Congrats."

**Riku:** "Yeah."

**Breezy:** "OH! To clear something up, Elizabeth will eventually tell Sora and co. what happened. Not yet, but very soon. Reviews are always welcome! And WTCFW is almost ready for its third chap! Reviews on both will help! Now, I'm going to glomp Riku!"

**Riku:** "What?"


	12. The Land Of Annoying Music

**Breezy:** "Okay, It's about…eleven right now, as I'm writing _–typing-_ this. Nothing belongs to me except a contract for an OC. Also, a lot of credit goes to KHImpulse for their script, it's helped me a whole lot in dialogue."

**Demyx:** "Where have you been?"

**Breezy:** "I, Demyx, have been involved in something everyone here knows about: school. Now, read, you all!"

* * *

Sora tried to land in Twilight Town, but we couldn't get through a creepy black cloud surrounding it. Thus, we turned back. Sora piloted the ship towards something that looked like a large temple, and, after an annoying fight with some freaky-looking ships, we were gone.

* * *

A short, burly, and hairy man stood in the remains of a small village, covered in soot, smoke, and fresh snow. A hawk that was circling screeched and landed upon his shoulders as he smiled.

"_See that, Mulan? It's Shan-Yu, leader of the Hun army! C'mon, girl. This __is your big chance!"_ A large, black shadow laid on a rock in a grove, watching the man in the valley. A rather short person in a green soldier's uniform stood beside it, watching the man as well.

"I can see it now: "Fa Mulan whups public enemy number one!" You gonna be famous! I'm talkin' A-list!" The person turned to face the shadow. They spoke:

"Mushu, I'm not sure... I haven't even joined the army yet. I have to take my father's place to preserve the Fa family honor. I- just hope I don't get discovered." The person spoke with a slightly girly accent, somewhat Chinese. "Whatever. You're just scared; admit it." The black creature, Mushu, retorted.

"But aren't you?" This person responded. The shadow put his face in his hands.

When the light dimmed, we were in a grove, surrounded by bamboo and rocks. I walked forward a bit and gasped. A person stood in front of a very tall rock, over shadowed by a…shadow. "Heartless?" Donald whispered to Sora. "Let's get the jump on him." Sora replied. I held out my hand and called. "Wait!" Goofy joined in. "Maybe we'd better look before we leap, fellas!"

Sora and Donald ran ahead of us. The person jumped and something behind the rock shot into their arms. Sora gasped and stopped running. Soon, Goofy and I caught up.

"Is that Mushu?" Goofy asked.

A very small, red dragon popped out from the armor on the person.

"That's right, I know you heard of me! I'm little, lethal, and legendary! Now y'all scram before I get my dragon dander up!"

This comment didn't seem to affect Sora at all; instead he replied cheerfully. "Hey, Mushu! We missed you!" The tiny dragon-thing replied just as curtly as before. "Yeah, well you better HOPE I miss YOU, or else you're…you're...-!" It paused. "Sora!

Donald! Goofy!"

"And an unnoticed person." I added. Just to myself.

"Do you know them?" The solider asked. Mushu hopped down off his shoulder. "Know them? Oh yeah! We used to kick all sorts of butt together! You know, I helped these guys out of a lot of tight spots. 'Cause I'm an almighty dragon! Right?" Mushu said, leaning against Sora's shoe. Sora pulled it away, and Mushu fell over.

"Something like that. And…you are?" Sora asked the solider.

"I'm Mulan. Um, no, wait, I mean…" Their voice faded away and he waved his hands around. Mushu stuck up a skinny finger from the ground. "Ping!" Donald crossed his arms and looked at the solider suspiciously. "Mulan-Ping?" "Just...Ping. I am Ping, son of Fa Zhou." 'Ping' put his hand over his chest to emphasize the introduction. "You know Mushu?" Sora asked.

"Mushu's one of my family guardians."

"Whoops! We didn't know we were borrowin' somebody as important as a family guardian." Goofy apologized. "Borrowing?" I asked. Donald sighed and tugged me over to a tree. After about ten minutes, I had been told what had happened in their other adventures. Mushu walked over to my leg and introduced himself. Seemed a bit cocky to me. After the introduction, Mushu climbed back onto Ping's shoulder and continued where he'd left off.

"Guess what?! That puts you three up to your eyeballs in debt to Ping here," Ping tried to smile. "Well, guess what, kiddies? It's payback time!" Ping sternly whispered in Mushu's general direction. "Mushu…" Mushu only continued. "Ah, they don't mind. Ain't that right?" Sora moved his hands into a pose. "Hmm, sounds fair." "I guess." I agreed. "You see, Ping here was just on his way to join the Imperial army."

Mushu paused to move to Ping's other shoulder.

"We gotta go find the other recruits over at the training camp." Ping decided to speak… in a voice that sounded strangely like a girls'. "Would you join us? It'll be easier to fit in if I'm with other guys, like you three." Sora moved his eyebrows. "Wait- what do you mean, "fit in"?"

Mushu almost fell off Ping's shoulders. "Uh, um, well, don't worry about that part." I shook my head. Ping seemed more and more suspicious every second. I was about to speak, but Goofy got it first. "You're pretendin' to be a boy, aren't ya?" Sora and Donald moved their head from Ping to Goofy, then to me.

I guess I was just a comparison.

After their mouths got back up, they jumped. Sora gasped, and Donald let out a small squawk. "You're a...girl?"

Ping shook her head and laughed. "You didn't notice?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Not me."

Ping glanced at Mushu. "I think it'll work." Mushu only shook his head. "I don't know…those two would fall for anything." Sora stamped his foot, and Donald huffed.

"I'm right here!"

"Hey!"

Mushu and 'Mulan' warned me I might be hurt or even killed for being a woman in the army. But hey- I could fight pretty darn well. So, a bit of mud, some twigs, and a large solider outfit change later- I looked almost like some very tanned boy Sora's age.

Who looked like they weighed a lot more then they should.

* * *

We walked into the camp, and I 'accidentally' set fire to a tent.

It was practice.

I haven't used fira yet!

Sora walked up to a line of other _–men- _and stood straight before he was pushed into the ground by a short, slightly fat man in a red suit. The man didn't notice Sora's yells; he only spoke to himself.

"'Bout time we got some grub."

"Hey, no cutting!" Donald put in a word of his. "Get out!" Okay, maybe two words.

In response, the red-suit-Santa punched Sora in the face, knocking him to the ground again. Donald muttered something under his breath and took a shot at him. "Hey! Back off ya goose!" The guy shouted.

They fought for a few minutes, and I'll have to admit- I didn't help. Why? Because it was cool to see all the hair and many feathers fly. Suddenly, a very tall, fat guy and a skinny shrimp came waltzing over. Yellow-shrimp talked first. "Hey, a space in line!" The fat dude pushed Donald and red-suit away from the line altogether, and rubbed his stomach as he spoke. In a way, he reminded me of Pence.

"I wonder what they're serving for lunch today." At that moment, Santa pushed Donald away and punched shrimp. "Knuckle sandwiches!" He yelled and punched. "That does it!" Sora shouted and aimed for Santa. In a way, it was funny. Donald was jumping on shrimp's back and being pushed at the same time, while Sora and the other guy fought it out.

Ping, blue dude, Goofy, and I just stood, watching. Ping looked like sh- he was about to cry. "Please!" It worked. Everyone turned to look at him, and shrimp- who was sporting a black eye- mimicked him. "Please!?" "What a girl!" Ping changed looks in a second. "Uh...knock it off!" Reddy took a pose. "Knock what off?"

"You punched me!" Sora argued.

"Cutting in line!" Donald added.

"What a shrimp!" Shrimp pointed at Donald. Hah, he needed to look in a mirror. Donald looked redder than the turkey I had at Christmas once. Unfortunately, Mushu thought the insult was for him. "Who're you callin' a shrimp, panda-lips?! I'm a guardian dragon!" Ping thankfully shoved Mushu back into the armor, trying to get everyone calm again. "L-let's just get back in line, okay?"

"Whose side are you on? I just got slugged!" Sora looked it. He had a black eye, a few cuts, and a big, red bruise next to his nose.

"Want some more?" Red threatened.

"Soldiers! Get back in line!" A loud voice called and, afraid of it, we all jumped into line again. "The Captain!" Shrimp whispered.

A tall, young man walked down the line, pausing to stare at Ping and me especially before moving on. After he left, I noticed the ground became slightly black and I nudged Sora as shadows popped up. I got out a few arrows and my bow before Ping spoke. "What are they?"

"Heartless!" Sora answered and the three in front of us must have thought we were talking about them. "Oh really? Humph!" Shrimp said, and walked away with his mates. "Ping, I hope you're ready!" Sora called. "If he's not, we're in trouble!" I answered. More and more shadows were appearing left and right, and for some reason the camp seemed empty. Thankfully, we wiped them out, and the captain came near us after I'd struck the last one. "You four. What are your names?" Not to worry; I'd already thought of mine. "Sora."

"Donald."

"Goofy."

"Sam." What? It was the first thing to come to mind.

"You're welcome in my troop. Your battle skills are encouraging." Captain Shang didn't notice Ping until he spoke up.

"I am the son of Fa Zhou-"

"You should return home." Hmph. I know what Demyx would say if he were here. (A//N: If you tell me in your review what Demyx might say, you get a BIG cookie!) Poor Ping was struck.

"B-but... That would dishonor my family!"

"You'd rather dishonor my troops?" How rude. You'd think he'd have learned manners _somewhere._

"But…-"

"Listen, if Ping trains hard and does his best, he'll get stronger in no time! Guaranteed!"

"Hmm..."

"Give us a mission! We can show you we'll work together well." I put in, hopefully with a deeper voice. Apparently, it worked because he turned to me.

"So...you want to be tested, then? Well, our orders are to ambush Shan-Yu's army on their way here. They should be coming through the mountain pass."

"We'll smash them!" Donald cried, waving his staff in the air.

"I doubt that. You four will be the advance party. Scout out the mountain for my troops." Something wasn't right. Such an easy task…? Sora didn't seem fazed at all.

"That's it? No problem. Right?" He turned to Ping.

"R-right." He answered, fiddling with his hands and staring at his feet. Captain Shang didn't seem to notice his behavior. He only went on with more of the mission. "I'll brief you on the details later. Return when you're ready to depart. Remember, the smallest mission may have the greatest purpose. Stay alert!"

I've seen those army movies, and I guessed this was the time to salute.

"Sir!" All five of us shouted and raised hands in a salute. When Shang walked away, I took off my backpack and rummaged for a few things. About fifteen potions lay at the bottom, full and ready to be used. I tossed Sora and Ping a few, keeping about five for an emergency. A small pendant lay in an inner pocket. I smiled. I put there after Aerith gave me the bag. Axel had given it to me. The memory flickered in my mind for a second before it came completely.

* * *

"_Come on, Liz!"_

"_I'm coming! Hold on!" _I ran through the halls of the castle, trying to find him. Axel had turned down too many corners and hallways to count, so I didn't have much of a chance. Suddenly, two arms grabbed me from behind and I whipped around to see him grinning at me and tucking something into my chest pocket.

"_What…?"_

"_A present."_

* * *

Sora walked up to Shang when we decided we were ready. Shang looked busy with a solider, apparently discussing plans. He finally noticed us behind him and turned. "Have you decided you're up for a mission? A strange figure was seen at the Checkpoint! Head there quickly and defeat the enemy!"

Short mission, if you ask me.

"You've done a passable job. But stay alert! This is just the beginning. Shan-Yu has invaded our country. We must stop him at all costs. A mob is heading for the Checkpoint. Stop them while keeping an eye out for strange enemies!"

'Strange enemies?' Huh, it seemed familiar.

"Hmm, not bad. Now brace yourself for the rest of your assignments. Our objective is to defeat Shan-Yu. Do not fail your mission. It seems the enemy has invaded the camp. Defeat every enemy you encounter!"

I know the captain's running out of ideas for mission names.

"Yes, that's exactly what I need from you. Now, you still have some tasks to do. Stay sharp. You did well." Sora raised a fist into the air. "I knew it!" I let out a yes, followed by an 'A-huck' from Goofy. "Captain..." Ping said, apparently unfazed that we'd made it in. Shang didn't seem to be as hard on her this time, thankfully. "I suppose you've made a little progress..."

"Not a little-a lot!"

"You go Donald!"

"No. You're right, Captain. Please give me one more assignment. This time… I'll show you what I'm truly made of!" Ping stated aloud. Shang lost his manners again. "Fine. I'll give you one more chance. Remember, this may be a test, but it's still an important mission. Be alert!"

"Sir!"

"Your mission is to secure the path over the summit so our company can pass. I've authorized you to be let through to the summit. Don't let me down!"

Ping smiled and we walked towards the mountain. After killing a lot of heartless, Ping finally started to be getting the hang of it. When we reached the village, Red, Shrimp, and Blue Dude walked over to us, and we learned their names. After the short introduction that followed from our end, they turned to Ping.

"Hey, you ain't half bad."

"A man among men!"

Ping blushed slightly and thanked them. My attention was taken however, when I saw a flick of blond hair from behind a store. I broke away from Sora and the others without them noticing and followed it. After I ducked around a few cargo packages I saw a girl my age.

Blond hair tied in a bun swished around a few stray strands. Green eyes stood from behind a surprised look as she noticed me. She started to run, but seemed to think better of it and turned. I knew her face, that hair… those eyes…

"Mary?" I stared into her eyes, waiting for a response. Her eyes only widened.

"Liz?"

* * *

Mary shook as she hugged me. She explained that the day I left, the storm only got worse, and my home, the town, the place I grew up had vanished, and she'd been found here. Mary had been looking for her family, with no luck. She'd also tried to find Susan and me as well, but apparently she'd only found me, just now.

A servant of the emperor had found her, beaten and covered with darkness. She'd been staying in the village of the imperial city for quite a while, and had somehow payed her own way through rent and learned to fight with a katana.

I noticed that she wore a necklace with an exquisite seal on it, I guessed to be the emperor's.

"So, how come you're dressed like that?" She said, pointing to my muddy outfit and uniform.

"Long story."

"I have time."

So I explained. Mary sat on a cargo box and nodded occasionally. I told her everything. Axel, Xemnas, the patchy history of the past, Sora…

"Oh! Sora! I left him, Donald, and Goofy with Ping!" I shot up. Suddenly, smoke rose through the air. Flames jutted out from a few buildings to our left, and a hawk circled above.

"RUN!" Mary screamed, and shot through a narrow alley of stone. Splintered, burning wood started to rain down in front of us and behind. Screams erupted from the mass of the fire, but quickly disappeared once the families got to safety. Once we were far enough away, we could see the strong flames reflect on the snow.

"Who did this?"

"Maybe a kid was playing with matches."

What was once a home crumbled into soot and ash. The wind carried smoke into our faces. We winced.

'_Where's Demyx when you need him!?'_

Wait…Demyx could use…

"Wait… Mary! I think I can use magic!"

"Huh? Magic?"

Merlin had given me six orbs. One of them was a bright blue. Praying it had something to do with water, I threw it at a newly burning store.

Ice shards grew from the ground as it landed, and stopped the fire. The ice melted from the heat on it, but the store didn't catch fire again. The ball bounced back to me and melted into my hand. I concentrated and struck my hand at a pile of burning wood. Ice flew from my hand into the mass of fire, doing just what the ball had done.

I kept trying to save as many houses as I could. In the end, I only saved a few buildings and walls. Smoke rose from the embers as I stood panting. Mary whistled.

"Liz! What… happened?" Sora called, pausing as he saw the village. He winced as the others caught up.

The village was only a pile of soot, blackened walls, and a few half burned buildings now. Ping gasped and ran into the disaster. Sora and I ran after her. She had noticed the captain on the ground and was trying to help him to his feet. He clutched one of his sides in pain. Blood stained the snow he had laid on.

"Captain!"

"It…it's only a scratch…" Captain tried to stand, but stumbled and fell. Ping leaned close to him.

"Captain, who did this? Where did they go?"

"Shan-Yu. The…summit. Hurry."

"We'll stop 'em." Mary said.

"It is kinda our fault." Goofy blustered.

"Come on. Let's go before they leave." I ran off, bow summoned with my bag on my shoulder, filled with arrows.

"So, who are you?" Sora asked Mary as we ran. "Are you a friend of Liz?"

"Yeah, she is. Sora, you're looking for Riku and the king, right?" I asked Sora as we all ran.  
"Yeah."

"I'm looking for friends, too." I stated and ran faster as we neared the summit, and I stopped as I gaped at the sight above us.

Shan-Yu was standing at the very top of the mountain, smirking at us with his hawk on his shoulder. He raised his sword above his head, and a row of heartless approached the hill, staring at us and jerking around. The hawk left his shoulder as he slashed the air with his sword and called to the gigantic horde.

"Attack!"

The heartless charged down the summit, straight at us. Ping and I started slashing and shooting them down, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran their own ways to fight. Mary grabbed a few stones and made snowballs to knock them out of the sky, knocking them out so Sora could just hit them without having to jump up. Shan-Yu watched, still from the top of the hill, and growled when we had killed the heartless. More appeared behind him, and he charged down the mountain, snarling.

Strangely, he reminded me of Siax.

Out of nowhere, Yao and Ling ran in front of us, carrying a strange rocket shaped like a dragon.

"Stand back!" Yao yelled as they stopped in front of Ping and started to point at Shan-Yu. Ping looked from Shan-Yu to the rocket and bumped the two out of the way, putting the rocket into a different angle.

"Flint, flint, I need…" Ping suddenly saw Mushu next to her. "Ah!" She grabbed the now scrambling Mushu and squeezed him so fire shot onto the rocket's flare. Poor Mushu landed onto the rocket, which took off, and sped up towards a mountain next to us.

"You're goin' the wrong way!!!" Mushu screamed as he collided with a deep snow bank on the top of the mountain. A loud rumble filled the air around us, and snow started to fall down the deep slope, causing an avalanche.

"Captain?" Sora asked and looked behind us. Captain Shang was approaching with two soldiers. Ping looked from Shang to the summit, and ran towards him.

"LOOK OUT!" She yelled, grabbing his hand and looking at us to follow her, seconds later, snow poured out from the top of the summit, and we all jumped under a rock to hide. Snow poured in front of us, just about an inch or two from my nose. After a few minutes, it was over, and Shan-Yu was nowhere in sight.

"Man, first she uses me for a lighter, then she puts me on a rocket. The head guardian'll hear about this, sure. I give up!" Mushu popped out of the snow next to me and walked over to Ping. "C'mon Mulan, girl, let's go home." My eyes widened and so did Mulan's.

"Mushu!" She whispered harshly. Mushu turned to her and he and I both gasped to see the captain standing next to Mulan.

"Ping? A woman? It can't be!" Shang looked down and closed his eyes tightly. In a few seconds, he looked back up to us, and his voice got louder.

"You all knew, didn't you? You all knew Ping was a woman!" He looked around at us. I saw the others staring at anything but Shang. Mary looked confused, while Ping looked heart-broken. Shang's expression turned into a scowl.

"I can't believe you all lied to me. The punishment for dishonoring the army… is death." Shang walked a few steps ahead of us. "Get out of my sight, all of you. Now."

Mulan rolled her hands into fists. "Captain…" Shang looked over his shoulder.

"My dept is repaid." With that, he walked away to the other soldiers. "The Emperor is waiting! Move!"

Mulan sighed as the troop left Mushu hopped onto her shoulder.

"Man, I blew it. I'm sorry, Mulan." Mulan looked down to the snow.

* * *

After the shock went away, we all went back down the summit and passed by a small stream and waterfall. Mulan threw the over armor she had on onto the land next to the waterfall, so now she had on commoner's clothes. No one said anything. Mary had left us on the mountain, after I hugged her again, to help repair the village. Suddenly, the silence was broken when a shrill hawk called above us. I looked up to see Shan-Yu's hawk land on top of a rock away from us. Then, Shan-Yu climbed onto the other side of the rock. I grabbed Sora, Mulan and the others and pushed them behind a rock, quickly. Shan-Yu roared, and ran off towards the city on the horizon. Mulan gasped.

"He's headed for the Imperial City! We have to warn Shang!" She sped off, before anyone could stop her.

"Mulan!" Sora and I called, but we started running after her, too. After a lot of running, we reached the gates to the city. Shang and the troop stood in front of us, waiting to be led in to the palace.

"Shang!" Mulan yelled. Shang stopped walking and gave her a cold stare. "Shan-Yu is alive! He's headed this way!" Shang seemed uninterested.

"And why should I believe you this time?"

I opened my mouth, only to have a strange sound come from it. Something that sounded like… a hawk.

I tried to speak again, and only a large caw came out. Sora looked at me like I was crazy. Donald just stared. Shang and Mulan's eyes widened. Goofy scratched his nose. I felt like screaming. And then, to blow thing off, Shan-Yu's hawk flew out of the sky and landed on my shoulder, looking… _happy_.

I'm scared.

Sora seemed to be fighting the strong urge to attack it, but forced himself to be still, since this hawk was the size, and had talons, of a raptor. It started brushing against my face, and beat its wings slightly. I tried to tell Sora to get it off of me, but only more cawing came out. My hands flew to my mouth.

I'm really scared now.

Shan-Yu appeared out of nowhere, in front of the palace, clutching a sharp sword - to the Emperor's throat. He smirked a yellow grin at us and glanced to the Emperor.

"You'll bow to me now, old man." The Emperor showed no signs of fear, he just stood there, eyes locked on us.

Shang whipped his sword out with ease and knocked Shan-Yu out of the way, hurrying the Emperor inside the palace. Mulan also got her weapon, along with Sora, the others, and me.

"It ends now!"

And the battle began.

Sora got the first hit in, smacking Shan-Yu in the head with force that could've crushed bones. But Mr. Thick-skin just stumbled back. I watched everyone else fight him, while I held back. For some reason, I didn't feel like moving. Instead, the hawk on my shoulder flew up and started to _attack_ Shan-Yu.

Talk about a last-minute turncoat hero.

Shan-Yu was really surprised, because he didn't even move his sword, until the bird tried to claw his face. Sora, the others and I instantly attacked Shan-Yu, with help from the hawk. In a matter of minutes, Shan-Yu lay sprawled on the ground, knocked unconscious. A few foot soldiers carried the corpse away, leaving us with the Emperor. I winced. I don't think Shang had seen through my disguise, but the Emperor kept giving me strange looks. Maybe it had to do with the hawk now perched happily on my shoulder. Mushu and everyone else didn't seem to notice the look that the Emperor was giving us.

"Now that's what I call burning some hunny-bun! Aw, yeah! Mulan's the best! Mulan's the best! No, wait a minute- I'm the best! Mushu's the best! Mushu's the best!" Mushu ran around in circles.

"Um… Your excellency!" Shang stood at attention, glaring at us to do the same. The Emperor turned to both me and Mulan and spoke. "Two women. To even dare to dishonor the Chinese Army… Fa Mulan, you've stolen your father's armor, you have both impersonated imperial officers…"

Donald sighed and Sora shook his head.

"And yet…" The Emperor's eyes filled with light. "You have saved us all."

Mulan and I exchanged looks as the Emperor himself bowed. Seeing this, Shang almost instantly fell to the ground. Sora, Donald, and Goofy bowed as well, and even the hawk raised his wings in a salute. Then the Emperor turned to me.

_Hereeee we go…_

"Never in all my years would I believe I would see something of power even to a god, than a yukojin. It must be why that hawk chose you as its new leader. Do you realize that you are worthy of the title 'angel'? Yet you use your power to dishonor the army-"

Goofy leapt to my defense. "Aw, I'm sure Liz didn't mean to cause any harm."

"While it is true that you have helped in saving China, I'm afraid you need to work on your discipline, young girl." The Emperor said the last bit with a smile, and I nodded my head.

Captain Shang."

"Sir." Shang held a ragged and stiff sword out to the Emperor, who took it and turned back to Mulan.

"Fa Mulan," he said, handing it to her, "Take this; so the world will know what you have done for China."

"Thank you, your Excellency." Mulan backed away. Shang looked around at us.

"Mulan."

"Yes?"

"Sora?"

"Sir!"

"Your Grace."

"Um…Yes?"

"Donald?"

"Wak!"

"Goofy?"

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you." Shang said as he bowed. The Emperor clicked his tongue.

"Thank you"? Is that all there is to say, Captain? If you wish to win the heart of Fa Mulan, China's bravest woman, you'll have to be a bit more eloquent than that!" I giggled as Mulan and Shang both blushed. Mulan turned to us.

"Thanks for everything, guys." Mushu plopped down on my shoe.

"Now they've gotta let me become a guardian again! They gotta!" He said a little too loudly.

"Mushu? I thought you were a guardian?" Goofy asked him. Mushu shot off my shoe and stuttered as he spoke.

"No, no, that's just real technical stuff, just for us guardians."

"You tricked us!" Mulan, Sora and I all yelled.

"No, no… you see…" Sora started to chase Mushu as he stuttered. Then I noticed Shan-Yu's sword starting to glow. I nudged Sora and glanced at it. Sora pointed his Keyblade at it as the sword lifted into the air…

And the darkness paid me another visit.

* * *

**Breezy:** "Amazing! I've updated! I hope you all enjoyed this one, cause it took a while to make!"

**Demyx:** "Yup."

**Breezy:** "Now, I must go finish my book report! Ciao!"

**Demyx:** "Ja ne!"

**Sora:** "See you next time!"


	13. SuperDinky Shortie!

Breezy: "Oh meh gee

**Breezy:** "Oh meh gee. I'M ALIVE!! Seriously guys, I'm _really_ sorry that I haven't updated in forever, but I've had school finals lately, and band auditions…"

**Riku:** "SO?! YOU'VE BEEN GONE FOR _MONTHS_!!"

**Sora:** "Yeah, we thought you died or something."

**Demyx:** "Band auditions?"

**Breezy:** "Yesh. I'm hoping for symphonic 1 (Best band) for this next year, but I won't know until sometime this summer. Anyway, I'm sorry (_again_) that this chapter is short, but I will be active this summer! I promise!"

**Axel:** "Breezy034 does not own any characters made by Mr. (Almighty) Tetsuya Nomura, the settings, or KH2 plot; but she does own her own plot and all her OCs."

**Breezy:** "Man, that sounded legal. You gonna be a lawyer or something, Axel?"

**Sora:** "Hey, if you don't own us, how are we really here?"

… … …

**Breezy:** "Sora?"

**Sora:** "Yeah?"

**Breezy:** "Shut up."

* * *

Demyx anxiously twiddled his gloved fingers as Xemnas monologued his daily monologue about his plans. While every other member was intently listening, (save for Axel, who was absent,) Demyx was too absorbed in his own thoughts to care, so he twiddled his thumbs and shifted a few drops of water around.

'_I saw her.'_

The water fell a few centimeters, and the usually happy-go-lucky organization member frowned.

'_But…did Liz know it was me?'_

"DEMYX!!" roared Xemnas, the almighty leader of Organization XIII.

"Ya!" Demyx nearly fell out of his chair, being struck so randomly. "What?"

Xemnas groaned.

"For the fifth time, _number nine_, you're being assigned a mission to watch and wait for Sora in Olympus Coliseum. All you must do is provoke him enough to annihilate more heartless." The almighty superior droned. Demyx sent a salute and replied.

"When do I leave, Superior?"

"Now."

Demyx's eyes widened from underneath his hood and he muttered quietly to himself as he disappeared into his purple-black vortex:

"Man, are they sending the wrong guy."

* * *

**Breezy: **"I'm sorry! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!! I told you guys it was short, but at least I'm still alive, right? RIGHT?!"

**Please review, or I will keep poking Donald if you don't! (Guys, think of the duckies!)**


	14. Gods, Spirits, and Big Dogs, Oh My!

Breezy: "YESH

**Breezy:** "YESH!!YESH!!YESH!!"

**Riku:** "WHAT?!"

**Breezy:** "OMGEEE!! I MADE SYM. 1!! 1ST CHAIR, BABY!! YESH!!"

**Demyx:** "That's a good thing?"

**Breezy: **"If it wasn't, then I guess I wouldn't have given ten minutes of worship to this letter then, huh? Poor mailman. Anyway, hello all! Greetings from somewhere in Tennessee! I'm with friends and my mom up here for a while, and that means my brain has opened its doors to no writer's block! As you should all know by now, I don't, under ANY circumstances, own the KH franchise. This is FANfiction, guys. All for fun, right?"

**Sora:** "Now that I can hear and see again, can we start?"

**Breezy:** "PUSH THE BUTTON, RIKU!"

**Riku:** "God, you're hyper."

* * *

"Sora, I'm _pretty _sure that slamming into flying rocks isn't a good way to make it to that Coliseum- thing."

"_You_ wanna take over the controls?"

"Um, guys…"

"Sure spike-boy! I'll bet I could do a better job than you!"

"Guys…"

"OH REALLY?!"

"H-LL YES, REALLY!"

"GUYS!!"

Mary, being as calm as she usually is, hates it when people get in her face. And Sora had done just that.

For the past hour and a half, we'd all been flying along our way to Olympus Coliseum. Mary had caught up to us before we left The Land of Dragons, and I'd begged Sora as far as the puppy-dog face for her to come along.

I'm pretty sure he was regretting ever giving in. After we had visited the ever-so-wonderful Beast's Castle, Mary and Sora had been fighting about countless things.

Donald and Goofy were sleeping below the hull in the bunks, and somehow we hadn't woken them up with Mary and Sora's screaming at each other.

"WHAT?!" They both shouted at me, Sora still keeping his eyes on the space in front of the ship.

"Guys, calm down. Not only are you shattering my eardrums, we can't be screaming at each other if we'll be together for the rest of this journey." I calmly stated, even though I wanted to rip both of their throats out. They shut up, and Mary went back to her seat, already looking guilty.

"Sora, how much longer till we're there?" I asked, trying to beak the uncomfortable silence.

"About another hour." Sora grumbled.

More silence. Mary started rummaging through my bag, and I sharpened my arrows. Haya, the hawk we'd picked up, nuzzled against my face, and I could tell he was still quivering from being woken up so roughly. I pet him and stared out at the stars above our heads. Mary found my tokens from Merlin, and fingered them before putting them back.

"Hey, Sora?" Mary mumbled.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry. I guess I just kinda…" Mary stopped when she looked up. "Uh, what's that?"

Sora and I both looked up to where Mary was pointing to a giant mushroom-shaped kinda thing in the abyss above us. Half of the thing was a dark black/blue building on the bottom, and the other half was yellow and white.

"Uh, I think that's where we get off."

* * *

"Man, this place reeks!" I covered my nose and breathed through my shirt as we walked through a black cavern covered in the stench of death. Sora and Mary did the same thing, until we got used to it. Haya squawked and buried his beak in my bag, where he snuggled his way in. Donald and Goofy had stayed behind on the ship, still fast asleep. Mary handled her sword from China shakily as we walked.

It was dark, spooky, and smelled like wet dog. Creepy lights flew around us, and some of them had faces and screamed in our ears. Mary usually screamed back.

"Something tells me this isn't the happy temple you told us about back on the ship, Sora."

"AHHH!"

A shriek startled us; so much that Mary jumped a foot in the air and landed in a puddle. Sora and I, (after I helped Mary out of her puddle and Sora stopped laughing) ran for the source of the sound, while Mary followed.

A brunette girl lay sprawled on the ground, rabid heartless attacking her. In a few seconds they were gone, and Mary helped the girl up.

"So, you guy and gals are supposed to be…?" She said, a small smirk on her face.

"I'm Sora, she's Liz and that's Mary. We came to see how Hercules was." The girl shifted her weight and stared at us, in turn.

"You guys know Wonderboy?"

"Well, Sora here does. We're just kinda hanging around him." I said, patting Sora on the shoulder.

"I guess we've got something in common. I'm Megara, but my friends call me Meg." She stuck out her hand, and I shook it.

"So, how is Herc, anyway?" Sora asked, dismissing the Keyblade while doing so.

"Wonderboy? Uh, well… he's been duking it out every day at the Coliseum. 'A hero's work is never done,' and all that jazz. The way he's been fighting, he'll be ready to drop any second, but the monsters just keep coming. Hades' special deliveries always-"

"Hades!?" Sora interrupted, shocked. Meg continued, a bit of annoyance on her face.

"Yeah. Lord of the Underworld- this place. I was actually on my way to see him. I was going to try to get him to cut Wonderboy a break, but… if anything happens to that kid…" Meg broke off, looking into space.

"He-he… sounds like you guys are a little more than friends…" Mary snickered. I rolled my eyes, while Meg started to stutter.

"How about we go talk to Hades for you? It'd be bad for you to get hurt down here." Sora took the hero role again, and grinned.

"You'd do that? I guess I'll take you up on that, but let's keep the chat-with-Hades our secret, ok?" Meg smiled.

"Sure!"

"Our lips are sealed!"

"Then, see you, Sora, Liz, and Mary." Meg ran off, headed for a staircase leading into some light. We started off to see Hades.

* * *

The passages to the deep depths of the underworld are not a picnic. Sure, there were quite a bit of chests to unlock as we slipped deeper into the abyss, but it was an easy place to get lost. Just stall for one second to knock away a floating spirit, only to find your teammates had gone on without you.

And then more spirits would show up.

Joy.

We spent most of the time down in the underworld getting lost, looking for lost teammate, yelling at found teammate, chucking spirits across the room, and getting lost again. So, it was pretty serious when we started to hear footsteps coming in our direction from in front of us. It especially freaked me out when those footsteps revealed themselves to belong to a black-coated and hooded Organization member, running towards us like he was gonna ram us. And if things weren't weird enough, he ran right past us.

"Run, run AWAY!" He screeched, and by the sound, I could tell it was Demyx. Then he ran into a portal and fwooshed away.

We all stood there, processing what had just happened. Sora kinda just gaped at the empty air where the portal had been.

"…Okay…"

* * *

We walked into a damp, stinky, green room with mist all over the ground. We were standing on a floating rock platform, below us was nothing but creepy neon green mist, and then nothing.

What a great place for tourists.

"Okay, well, any idea where this 'Hades' guy is?" Mary asked. Sora stared up at the space of rock floating above us, where sounds of metal clashing could be heard.

"Up there, I guess."

As we walked into Hades' chamber, we were greeted with a fire assault. The Almighty God of the Underworld was standing before us, and he was chucking fireballs like some five year old. Another guy, in a red cloak with a big sword was dodging said fireballs.

"Hades!" Sora yelled, yanking out the Keyblade and an ether. The giant red demon king turned to a blue color as he looked back at us and made more fire.

"You again?!" He yelled as he threw fireballs and ducked a blow from the guy with the sword. Who ever the other guy was, he wasn't winning.

"FIGHT!" The red cloaked man shouted at us, while blocking more fire. Sora and I nodded, instantly jumping in, and Mary following. Sora seemed slower than normal, and all of my arrows weighed as much as lead plates.

"Anyone else think something's wrong?" Mary voiced.

"I feel kinda funny…" Sora lowered the Keyblade. Hades laughed and threw more fireballs.

"_That's_ right! See, that's the thing. In the Underworld, heroes are zeroes; comes with the territory." The fallen guy in the corner brought his sword down were Hades was standing, just for him to disappear in smoke.

"Go! NOW!" Red guy yelled before being pushed back.

"But we've got to talk to Hades!" Sora yelled back. Hades then appeared next to me, with his fingers in his ears.

"What was that?" He asked, ticking Sora off a good deal. The guy in red and I pulled both Sora and Mary off, seeing as we were getting beaten to pieces.

After we outran Hades, the new guy introduced himself as Auron, saying he was jailed for something I don't think any of us understood. We all agreed that 'talking' to Hades would do no good, except to the Coliseum doctor's wallet, and headed on our merry way back up to the surface to tell Meg the bad news. We fought through the heartless and annoying spirits _again_ and got back to the last chamber, just to stop because, apparently, 'Underworld Custodial Services' forgot there were tourists down here and locked us in. That, or Hades didn't want us to leave so early.

Sora brought out the Keyblade.

"Will that open it?" Auron asked, still griping his own sword.

"I think so…" Sora answered and raised it to unlock the door.

And a long shadow cast Mary and me in the dark. Growling and a strong breeze flew past us. Mary and I both turned around.

"That's a _**BIG**_ dog."

* * *

**Breezy: **"Sorry the chap. so short guys, but I've been everywhere here in town looking for school stuff and supplies. I've also had to go out of Tennessee a few times to get flute stuff, which hasn't given a lot of free time for me. I'll try to get the next chapter in before the middle of September, but since that whole month is filled with football games, I can't make it set in stone."

**Sora:** "That stinks."

**Riku:** "Wait… you play football?"

**Breezy:** "Heck no. If you've seen our team play, then you've seen too much injury. I'm in football band. And concert band. And maybe jazz band, later. OH! Before I forget, I may be at Crisiscon this year! It's an anime/sci-fi convention at home during Halloween. I might – might be going as Rina from Higurashi no naku koro ni, covered in fake blood. Maybe. If you wanna know more about Crisiscon, take a look at this site!

**Demyx:** "As always, please review!"

**Breezy:** "C ya!"


	15. Barrels of Fire

**Breezy:** "Okay-dokie. School sucks. Let's see… this is the… fifteenth chapter? Somethin' like that. I guess I'll cut to the chase, then."

**Axel:** "No comments?"

**Sora:** "No weird remarks?"

**Breezy:** "Nope. Just fact, except for a small ad. Guys, seriously. I REALLY need people to go to my authoress page and send me a message regarding ideas for other stories. By the time this chap is finished, I should also have a poll running on there too. Send me a message! I won't bite your head off! Even if it's just honest criticism or flames, I'll take it! Again, thanks to all who have reviewed so far. You guys are my life! I mean, what's a story without feedback, right?"

**Axel:** "No kidding."

**Breezy:** "Anywhodeles, I don't own story 'cept for _my_ plot, no characters except _my_ OCs, and no frilly Keyblades with flowers. All rights that _aren't_ mine go to Mr. Noumra and the Kodak Company! Thank you Mr. Noumra and Kodak!"

**Sora:** "Read on!"

* * *

I like dogs. I've always liked dogs. They're cuddly, kind, and man's best friend. With their big eyes, furry bodies, and the cute little nudge they give you when they wanna be petted, who couldn't like dogs?

Well, except for Cerberus.

This _–thing-_ was not a dog. A dog would roll over and _pant_ instead of trying to crush and bite your head off. A dog would look at you with a sweet, understanding face, not 3 sets of yellowing, small, beady little eyes. A friendly dog would lick you, not try to bite you whole.

And, of course, a real dog wouldn't try to throw hot, black, dark flames at your body.

"I HATE DOGS!!" Sora screamed as his butt caught fire- again. I quickly put it out. Again. I was shooting non-stop arrows at this thing's heads, flying up high to where I had an advantage. Mary was hack-and-slashing as fast and as hard as she could. Sora was smacking Cerberus' paws left and right. Auron was fighting, and making the most progress of all of us.

And Haya, my sweet little Haya, was clawing at the mutant monster's face. I flew back and down, pushing Sora out of the way of another barrage of black flame. Auron slashed Cerberus' leg, causing him to fall to the ground.

"GO!" Auron yelled, hurrying us out of the way. Sora and I pushed the doors back, and they got moving to where we didn't have to push any more.

In a truly 'Kodak' moment, we all (Except Auron and Haya) made faces at the now recovering -And quite angry- Cerberus just as the underworld doors slammed shut.

oxXxo

We made our way back to the entrance to the Underworld, sporting bruises, black eyes, cuts, and the occasional burn mark. Sora's clothes were darkened and burned, and he smelled like burning hair. After giving him about 5 potions and an ether, he looked better. He still smelled like burned hair, though.

Mary had cuts, bruises and one nasty gash on her shoulder, but she was okay except for that. I was fighting an urge to scratch a place on my leg that had been cut, and then burned with the crappy black flame of death. Haya and I were missing a few feathers, and Haya had gotten a slice on his side, which I bandaged quickly. I'd ask Merlin if potions could be given to birds later. Auron, of course, was nowhere to be found.

"What happened to Auron?" Mary asked, now looking around for said man.

"He can take care of himself. Let's go find Meg. Then we can start this all over." Sora said, already starting to move to the large staircase of light. As we walked up the steps, it got brighter and brighter, until we were enveloped in light.

"Meg…" A tall man stated, out of the blue. The other person in the room, Meg, sighed and continued to argue with the man. Suddenly, he jerked his attention to the now opening doors to the lobby. The doors we huffed past and took all three of us to open. I'm sure we were all a wreck, but the path from the horrid depths of the Underworld to the ground above of Earth was not a happy-happy-joy-joy walk in the woods.

If you want to get technical, there were 2,906 steps in all, posted merrily on a shined plaque at the middle point of the stairs.

"Sora!" The man exclaimed, squishing the Keyblade bearer to my left in a bone-crushing hug. "When'd you get here?"

"Hey…Herc!" Herc let go of Sora and turned to us.

"Uh…I don't think we've met…"

"I'm Mary, and she's Liz. We're Sora's friends." Mary spoke up, still cowering in the shadow of this large, muscular, crushing man.

"I see. You guys on another adventure?" Herc replied, staring at Mary and giving her a little space.

"Oh, tracking down some friends, wiping out some heartless."

"Junior Heroes, always busy!" The two shook hands.

"You know it!"

"So… did you find those friends of yours, Sora?" Hercules brought out from the silence after walking into the coliseum's foyer.

" We're still working on it. We got here and ran into Meg-" Sora cut off, seeing Mary and me motioning for him to cut it, "Meg-Mega- Mega trouble, I mean! So we-um had to go help someone out! We tried to go teach Hades a thing or two...but the Underworld drains away all our strength. Don't suppose you…have any ideas?"

"WHAT?!" Someone yelled from the darkened entrance to the battleground.

A short, hairy, goat legged man walked from the room and stood under Sora. "Kid, _you_ went to the Underworld? Were you askin' for a quick death?"

"Sora, who's this guy?" I asked, widening my eyes at this tiny man-goat in front of me.

"Me? Girlie, haven't you heard of the fantastic, amazing Phil?" The tiny man struck a pose, and I fought back a giggle. He turned back to Sora, scolding him again for going into the Underworld.

"Um, anyway… I think there's a stone that guards against the Underworld's curse. The Gods on Mt. Olympus use it all the time when they go down there." Herc rubbed his chin in thought.

"Do you think we could use it?"

"Absolutely no-"

"Sure! I don't see why not. I'll get it for you. But, I won't be able to go, and Hades is no pushover… so why don't you guys go train with Phil here?" Herc motioned and walked off, leaving us with the crazy, over-protective little man.

* * *

"KEEP YOUR HEAD UP! KID, MOVE FASTER!!" Phil was shouting at us as the three of us ran around the arena, setting fire to the barrels and blowing them up.

I think there were around 500 by now. There were rows and rows of barrels, in every direction. We were surrounded.

"Fire!" Sora yelled, taking out around a fourth of the barrels. I had discovered that casting fire on my arrows made them obliterate anything they touched.

Yay.

So, I was firing left and right, up and down, at anything and everything that questioned my authority, laughing manically all the way. Sora and Mary were now huddled in a small corner free of barrels, but not of burning wood and ash. Phil had dropped the megaphone and ducked as a chunk of stray fire flew over his head, and Haya was around hunting somewhere. Soon my rage ceased, and I wobbled as the feeling of magic left me. I steadied myself against a wall and caught my breath.

"Um, I think we're caught up, kid." Phil announced, snapping me out of my daze. Mary passed me some water, which I gulped down, and sat next to me. Soon I was back to normal, and got back up.

"Well, if we are done training, what now?" Mary asked, pocketing a random piece of charred wood.

"Alright kids, I gotta take off for a bit." Phil said, walking away.

"Where you going, Phil?" Sora asked.

"None of your beeswax. See ya!" And with that, the half-centaur walked away, to who knows where.

"Hmm… I guess we better go find Herc, and ask if he's got the stone yet." Sora rubbed his chin and stood.

"Aw, I don't want to go back down there. It feels… strange. I think I'll stay and train some more guys." Mary said, already walking over to the remains of barrels. Sora and I watched, and turned to each other.

"Guess it's you and me, Liz."

* * *

"Why can't they make an elevator or something?" I stated out of the blue. Sora and I stepped down the stairs bordering life and death, getting close to the underworld entrance.

"What's an elevator?" I sighed at Sora's answer. We reached the entrance.

"Never mind. We just gotta—PHIL!" I called, running to the fallen little man. He groaned as I shook him awake. "Phil, what happened?" Phil's eyes swayed, then focused back on me as he came to.

"I-I saw this guy in black. Chased after him, but he turned on me. Next thing I know, I'm seeing stars…"

"All black, huh?" Sora asked, helping him to his tiny hoof/feet.

"Must be the one who stole the stone; like Herc said." I replied, nodding.

"Where'd he go?"

"To the underworld. He's a bad apple, alright. All I wanted was to find a replacement hero for Herc…" Phil got up, and walked back towards the exit, clutching a spare potion in hand.

"Okay, let's go." Sora said, walking towards the other underworld door.

* * *

"Man, this curse is starting to really get to me." Sora said behind me, working out a kink in his shoulder.

"According to this map, we're coming up to a dead end…" I read. Sora glanced ahead of us, toward a pair of stairs.

"Well, it can't hurt to go all the way back, right? The thief could still be around here somewhere." We both started walking again, knocking away any stray heartless with some trouble. My arrows felt heavier than before, and I couldn't even feel my wings anymore, since they were tightly folded inside my shirt. We climbed the stairs slowly, with me shifting the backpack to a more comfy position. Then we reached the top.

And something grabbed me from behind.

I let out a muffled scream as I bit and scratched at the hand on my mouth. Sora, who had been behind me, turned and whipped out the Keyblade. Whoever it was jumped back, with me still in tow.

"Y-You!" The voice exclaimed, dropping the hood. I then realized it was Demyx. I immediately felt happiness to see him again, but worried why he was holding me in place.

"Roxas? Roxas?!" Demyx said to Sora, standing across the room. Sora looked at him with confusion, and fear at what he wanted me for. "Ah, it's no use." Demyx shifted me so I was held in one of his arms while he dug in his pocket for something. It amazed me at how strong he was now, even though I wasn't fighting back so much, now that I knew it was him.

"Let's see here… 'If the subject fails to respond, use aggression to liberate his true disposition.'… right. Man, did they pick the wrong guy for this one."

Suddenly, everything around me changed as I was moved. It took me a few seconds to realize I was inside a water-like cage, hanging above the battleground. Demyx and Sora were fighting each other, underneath me. I watched with worry as Demyx summoned clones. Sora was clearly outnumbered. I banged the cage, but nothing gave way, except my strength. I took out arrows and tried cutting the bars, but my arrows did nothing. I even tried freezing the cage, but no dice.

"Not bad, Roxas! Maybe you'll come back if I take Liz!" Demyx yelled with something in his voice that scared me. With his threat, he knocked Sora across the floor, pulled the cage to him, and carried me through a portal of darkness.

* * *

When I woke up, I was crouched in a dark cell that looked exactly like the one I had been in a year ago.

Déjà vu.

There was no one outside, and I was alone. I got up and walked to the bars, looking through them to see if anyone was here. There was no one. I fell down, feeling my strength drain, when a portal opened on the platform outside the cell.

Xemnas the Superior appeared, giving me a wild grin as I fell into the darkness of my thoughts.

"Welcome back, our yukojin."

* * *

**Breezy:** "Holy moo cows! What'll happen to Liz? Will Sora be okay? Why was Xemnas grinning eerily? Why am I asking you all this? I'm the author!"

**Sora:** "DON'T KILL ME OFF!!!"

**Liz:** "Please don't kill me either!"

**Breezy:** "Both of you, calm down, I wasn't planning on it! Anyway, guess what you readers? I get Tuesday off! And then it's Thanksgiving a week later! WOOO!!"

**Riku:** "If you won't have pie on Thanksgiving, I'm not coming."

**Breezy**: "Riku, everyone has pie on Thanksgiving. _Xemnas_ has pie on Thanksgiving. Review you all, for Liz's sake!"

**Axel:** "Goodbye."


	16. Confession

**

* * *

**

Breezy:

"Why hello all. It's time again for a new chapter! Last time we were left on a cliffhanger. Hmm…"

**Sora:** "I'm not dead, am I?"

**Breezy:** "No, Sora, you're fine. In uncontrollable pain, but fine, mentally."

**Naminé:** " Breezy does not own any material in this story except her plot as listed in the summary, her own original characters, and her thoughts. The reason she's even writing this is because it's _fan_fiction. The song inside however, is called Uninvited by ______"

**Breezy:** "Very well done Naminé; I couldn't have done any better. Adding to Naminé's thoughts, if you are going to sue me, you won't get much. I have nothing valuable at all."

**Sora:** "Enjoy, guys!"

* * *

Stupid Xemnas, locking me up in a different cell. At least the one I had been in before had light. I could see my hand in front of my face. Here, I didn't even know where the _floor_ was most of the time. With all this 'yukojin' crap, I'm starting to get pissed. He won't even tell me_ anything_! Only riddles in the form of limericks, mind games, and rants every day.

Was it even day anymore? I'd truly lost count of how long I was in here; in this friggin' darkness. EVEN WORSE was that I couldn't move. I couldn't speak, hear, or _feel _anything. This had led to thoughts of my own about who I really was. I think my inner monologue is happier than ever, since she's been broken in.

And, I was lonely. Very lonely.

That's why, when Demyx showed up, I was excited and happy to see him, but angry all the same. As he made the darkness clear, I sat, waiting for him to break the silence. It hovered over us for what seemed like hours, but was finally broken.

"Liz…" I dared to look up.

And immediately regretted it.

Demyx stood, with obvious sadness in his eyes, water dripping from hood to heel. He sat too, in front of my dank cell bars, seeming to look for the right words. The quiet dragged on.

"I'm…sorry." He whispered, head sinking farther into his hands. I waited still.

"It's just… without you, this place got… empty. More than ever before. Even when Roxas left…" He broke off, in a world of his own. The silence came back. "I know you want an explanation. You deserve one, above all. Maybe…" He paused. "Maybe then you'll forgive me for what I have to do."

* * *

(POV change)

"WHERE IS SHE!?!" I screamed, shaking Sora till he saw stars.

"She's-She's probably in their stronghold now!"

"WHERE?!" I still shook, breaking down to a battle of my own now.

"I DON'T KNOW!!!" He screamed, grabbing for my hands to loosen them. I let go, and Sora fell down. He rubbed his hands as I buried my face into my own. I could hear Sora mutter something. If it wasn't for my current mental state, I would have punched him to the ground there and then.

"Mary…" Sora said quietly, although we had attracted all the attention of the passersby. "We can go look. Now, even. Go by Hollow Bastion and get Leon and the others to help." I wiped my tears away, pocketing my emotions, and pulled out the sword. Sora immediately backed up, and I would have laughed, if I wasn't so worried. I glared at it. After a minute, I put it back, my mind made up.

"Okay." I stated, my voice rising. "We're coming to save you, Liz."

* * *

Silence still lay between us.

Demyx fiddled, waiting for an answer. I was still mad at him, but nodded. He immediately stopped, and portaled to inside my cell. I glanced at him, and he sat again.

"What do you mean, 'I have to do'?" I tensed, waiting for an answer.

"You were found in—"

"Don't change the subject." I cut him off. Demyx sighed.

"Do you want to know, or not?"

I glared at the floor. Like it was the reason I was in this crappy place. Like it was the one who had betrayed me. Not a friend. Not Demyx.

"…yeah."

"Liz… you were raised in a foster home, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Your parents were… from another world. They couldn't raise you. They knew what you would… grow. They begged your foster mother to never tell you who they were or where they were from. They were… turned into…dusks." Demyx stopped. I shook. My eyes widened as I processed it. Demyx went on. "Xemnas was furious. Some of the higher-ups tried to reason with him, but… um… we thought that maybe it was for the best. Xemnas thought that you could get our hearts back if Kingdom Hearts didn't-whoa!" Demyx stopped, seeing a death glare I had sent him. I swear, if looks could kill, Demyx would be one with his element now. I stood, even though it hurt to do so. I summoned my arrows. Demyx also got up and stumbled away.

"Whoa, Liz, calm down!" Demyx stuttered. I stared him down with such an intensity he would have burst into flames if he could.

"You…want me to calm down? AFTER YOU ALL USED ME?!" I screamed. Demyx conjured his sitar, holding it in a defensive position.

"Liz, please…"

"_YOU SON OF A BITCH_!!"

* * *

"Listen, I'm sorry, but we haven't been able to focus on the Organization alone. With the claymore and heartless problems, we can barely think for ourselves." Leon told us. Great; we had come to Hollow Bastion for nothing. I got even sadder. Goofy tried to cheer me up, which was a little successful. Sora sighed as he heard Leon's news.

"Um… do you have a clue where we could find out anything?" I asked Leon and Merlin. They both looked at each other; both shrugged. Even Cid, who had a good idea of the cosmos, had no idea. I sighed.

Our little rescue party wasn't going as planned.

* * *

Demyx and I now stood at opposite ends of the room, still inside the darker cell. Both of us had scrapes and wounds, but no serious injuries. Demyx had his weapon out, but I was fighting with my fists. I yelled to him from across the room.

"Were you one that agreed? WERE YOU?"

"NO! I swear, Axel and I were against everything!" He replied quickly. I smirked. Even though so much had changed, Dem was still Dem. Axel and Demyx both were my friends.

But why was something missing?

"Then _why_ are we fighting?" I asked, laughing. Demyx gaped, but started to laugh too. I fell back, and stared at him from across the room. Dem approached, and sat down again. Neither of us talked, enjoying the company of each other. I dared to ask a question.

"But, didn't you need me to forgive you for something?" I asked. His expression immediately went from relaxed to sad. Demyx looked away, refusing to meet my face.

"Dem?"

"I have to get rid of you."

I froze.

"Wh-what? What are you talking abou-"

"I have to kill you." He looked at me. I stumbled, reaching for the floor.

"Why?"

"Xemnas said… you aren't needed anymore." I looked to his face. Demyx's eyes bore into mine, and I felt a tear on my cheek.

"You mean… your heart?"

"No." He looked at the floor again. So, Xemnas wanted to get rid of me…because I didn't work? Because the plan involving me had failed? My eyes went blank as a strong hand moved my head.

Then he kissed me. It felt like nothing, and I knew it wasn't for any reason, but it made my heart break. I couldn't feel anything for what felt like hours. Demyx broke away too soon, and still refused to meet my gaze. I absentmindedly put my hand to my lips, where he had been seconds ago. Another tear fell as Demyx reached for his weapon.

"I'm sorry, Liz."

* * *

"There's gotta be some way… a place, a person. Someone out there know where their stronghold is; we just gotta figure out who." I said, stroking Haya without thinking. Sora was still manning the controls, as Goofy and Donald were planning a route. The only sound that I could hear was the blinking and buzzing of controls. The gentle hum of the ship wavered in the background.

"Somehow…" Sora trailed off. "Yeah, we just gotta find who. You're right." I smiled, and turned back to the window, gazing at the view of endless space.

* * *

((The song Naminé told you about at the top? Listen to it now, while you read this part.))

_Like anyone would be…_

_I am flattered by your fascination with me._

I dodged another set of water-induced attacks from my friend. A few hit me, damaging myself even more. I didn't even have the life left in me to fight back.

_Like any hot-blooded woman…_

_I have simply wanted an object to crave._

I simply flapped my god-forsaken wings over and over, waiting patiently for Demyx's next came quickly, and this time I didn't dodge it.

_But you_

_You're not allowed _

_You're uninvited_

_An unfortunate sight…_

I yelped as the sharpened drops of water cascaded onto my back. I fell, onto the cold floor.

_Must be strangely exciting_

_To watch the stoic squirm._

_Must be somewhat heartening_

_To watch Shepard need Shepard_

I struggled to get back up. My eyes were losing focus, and I couldn't feel my legs anymore. I stood, nevertheless, keeping my tear-filled eyes on Demyx. I looked at nothing else.

_But you_

_You're not allowed _

_You're uninvited_

_An unfortunate sight…_

Another attack came. I stood standing, letting the tears fall. Blood or water, maybe both, was dripping down my back, and I cried to make sure I was still standing.

_Like any uncharted territory_

_I must seem greatly intriguing._

_You speak of my love like_

_You have experienced love like mine before…_

Serrated geysers knocked me into the air, and I hovered there, for only a few seconds. I quickly thought of my friends and family. My friends, all of them. And of the family I had never known and never would.

_But this_

_Is not allowed _

_You're uninvited_

An unfortunate sight…

I thought of everyone. Axel. Sora, Donald, Goofy. Mary, Susan, and Lindsey. I closed my eyes. I would not die without thinking of them. My thoughts rushed out as I began to lose feeling.

_I don't think you unworthy_

_I need a moment to deliberate…_

A sharp wave hit me in mid-air. I fell silently. Colors began to fade. Sounds dimmed. I heard my own heart slowing. Darkness was overcoming me. I saw Demyx one last time, before everything went black.

He was crying.

* * *

**Breezy:** "Now I feel all depressed."

**Sora:** "So? I'm still alive."

**Riku:** "You're not the only thing that's important, Sora."

**Sora:** "I'm more important than you, Riku."

**Riku:** "Oh, Really? How so?"

**Sora: **"I got the girl."

**Breezy:** "Oh noes! What's gonna happen to Liz? Has Xemnas found another plan? Why was Dem crying? Is this the end? I'm sorry about the shortness, but it just felt right to end it there. Anyhow, go to my page and take my poll! Review, too! If you don't, how will I know how to make the story better?"

**Sora: **"It's viewers like you who influence the creative mind! Thank you!"

**Breezy: **"Review, and have an awesome Thanksgiving!"


	17. I'm Back

**

* * *

**

Breezy:

"You know, it's a day to Christmas. I don't have a clue what I want, either. My Mom's been on my case to make a list of stuff I could use, but I can't think of anything. At least I'm not having a bad writer's block."

**Riku:** "If you had a block, you wouldn't be writing. You'd be hulled up in a corner somewhere in the dark.

**Breezy:** "That I would. That's what I did for Black Friday this year. I was woken up by the 'early bird buyers'. As always, I own nothing but my own plot, and my original characters. Anything other than that goes to its respective owners, mainly being Mr. Nomura. Enjoy, and have a very happy holidays!"

* * *

Sora, Donald, Goofy and I had been around this corner at least three times, and I was starting to get angry. How we had gotten lost in Hollow Bastion alone was beyond me, but we were lost, nonetheless. I tapped my foot as Sora glanced at the surroundings again.

"Are we going in circles?" Sora asked me. I grumbled and swiped the map from his hands. Opening it up, I noticed a clearing that wasn't familiar. I shoved the map back in Sora's hands, and sped up to the tunnel ahead of us.

We had been searching for Liz for two days now.

After searching the worlds we had been to before, nothing had come up. No one knew of the location of their stronghold, ideas of where it could be, or anything. I hated to admit it, but I was starting to lose hope. Goofy did his best to keep me smiling, however, and I kept on with the search. Our last location was Hollow Bastion, the world we were currently stuck on, getting lost in a maze-like rock enclosure. Sora's absence of ability to read wasn't helping in the slightest, either.

While I ran, I heard movement from behind, meaning that they were following me. I entered the tunnel, which was almost pitch black inside. Donald's staff kept a steady flow of fire to light up the place, and as soon as it was lit we gasped.

The fissure we had walked into was littered with crystals, left and right. Their colors glinted in the light, and I was breathless as we kept walking. Soon we passed the room, continuing on our journey. The tunnel was dark again, and I walked at the front of our group, alongside Sora.

After a while, we could see a light ahead and quickened our pace. We passed from the tunnel and walked into the light, where I basked in the warmth. Now there were rock slabs on all sides but a narrow edge. I walked over to it while Sora checked the map again. Peering over the edge, I looked off. I stumbled and nearly fell, but caught myself in time. What I had seen at the bottom of the pit made me both relieved, but very afraid.

Liz was lying, facedown, in the dirt. She was about twenty meters down, and I couldn't jump from this height. What worried me was the fact that there was a small puddle of blood under her, and she wasn't moving. From here, I couldn't tell if she was breathing, either.

I ran faster than I ever had to Sora, who I had to drag over to the cliff to show him. All four of us ran for help.

* * *

I'm not sure if it was the right thing to leave her here, but her friends were bound to find her.

That was all that mattered.

Demyx had almost done it. I nearly killed him for it. He was only one blow away from killing her completely, but I guess I waltzed in at the right time. She was still injured, but I couldn't risk staying long.

They're still looking for me, after all.

Maybe if we could find her, Naminé could help. Liz didn't do anything to deserve what had happened.

Maybe if I had a heart…

It was hard to leave her, but I don't know why.

It was hard to see her like that, but I don't know why.

I was almost positive I felt something, but… I don't know why.

Liz… are you working or not?

* * *

Sounds buzzed around me. I was surrounded in black. There was no up, down, or anything. I didn't move. I was sore and in pain everywhere. Was I dead?

The sounds got louder, and I felt a gentle rocking motion, like…I was walking.

Or being carried.

I still didn't move, buy I could recognize voices. Merlin's… Leon's… Mary and Sora's… but there were others, so many it hurt my already throbbing head. Distinctive pains shot through me, and I fought back a scream. Screaming would only make my throat hurt. The shifting stopped, and I felt something soft on my back. I drifted off into a pain-induced half sleep again, savoring the voices and warm air around me.

"How badly was she hurt?" One quiet voice asked. Yuffie's.

"Badly. I don't even know what happened." Mary's whisper silenced the room, save for a buzzing far away. A hand fell over my forehead, and Aerith's gentle voice filled my ears, along with a greenish light.

"_Cure._"

* * *

I didn't realize how badly Liz was beat up at first. Aerith's healing showed how she had been so close to death. The male population of Hollow Bastion (AKA. Cid, Leon, and Merlin) had seen that she would be fine in Aerith's care, and had gone back to checking on the claymore. Yuffie and I were watching Aerith heal. Even though Liz would be okay, I was still worried about what was to come.

Liz had scars all over her back and face. Her wings were missing patches of feathers and her shirt was stained with blood. She was still bleeding, from wounds on her arms and chest to cuts on her legs and face. Her hair was wet in some parts, and stained with blood on others. I clenched my hands into fists and glared at the floor with fire in my eyes.

Liz—whoever did this to you, I'll rip to shreds.

* * *

A few hours passed in silence. Aerith had done all her healing, but Liz was still conked out. If it wasn't obvious that she was breathing, I would have thought she _was_ dead. Aerith had announced that Liz would be fine, and just needed rest. In the meantime, I had nothing to do. All the males were still watching Cid work on the Claymore in the adjacent room, with the addition of Yuffie, and Aerith had settled herself in an armchair to read. I was standing next to Merlin's stack of books, looking at all the titles and trying to see if they were familiar. None of them were. I picked the top one on a minor stack, and read the title.

"_The Life of a Banana and How it Affects You"_

I blinked. It would have to do.

* * *

Cold. Wherever I was, it was cold. I felt something heavy on me. I was lying on something soft. Memories slowly came back, as I struggled to open my eyes or make a sound. Everything hurt. Above all, I couldn't move. After a while of listening to an intent humming sound in the background, I tried cracking an eyelid. The part of a room I lay in was lighted with a candle to my right. The faint scent of incense drifted around me. I looked over past the candle.

Aerith and Yuffie sat at the table, chatting over something. Their voices were soft, I didn't strain myself to try hearing. Instead I shut my eyes to their comforting darkness. I heard shuffling feet, and more weight was added to my chest. I opened my eyes as Aerith added another blanket. I was shocked to realize that, even with five blankets on me, I was still cold. Aerith helped me sit up and gave me a glass of liquid, which I drank in a matter of seconds, like a man who had been in a desert without water.

The drink had a warming effect, and tasted like fruit. I started to become more awake and alert. The downside to this alertness was that all the bruises and cuts I had gotten now burned with pain. I yelped and nearly dropped the glass. Yuffie put a wet rag on my head and Aerith put her hand to my collarbone, just above my heart. Through my eyelids I saw a greenish light. The pain lessened gradually. I relaxed again and drifted back to a short sleep.

* * *

Sora and I had been kicking heartless around while we waited for an update on how Liz was doing. The time I had been waiting nearly drove me insane. Donald had been whacked upside the head once or twice due to my absent-mindedness, and Goofy had been slightly cut. All three of them were now evading me like I had the plague. Haya had attached himself to my shoulder while Liz was healing, and seemed to like how I clobbered anything related to darkness within a five-foot-radius of me. We were now heading back to Merlin's house, with many more potions and ethers from various shops and generous heartless.

Soon we reached the courtyard in front of Merlin's house and opened the door. I shut it quietly behind us, and walked over to the table where Aerith was setting down cups of hot chocolate.

"Mary?" A voice nearly whispered from the corner of the room. I twisted my head around and jumped out of my chair, nearly making it fall. Liz was buried under tons of blankets, and her hair and face was still bloodstained, but the color had returned to her skin and she seemed more alert. I pulled a chair next to the bed and asked her about everything.

* * *

God, Mary seemed paler than me when she walked in. For a second, I thought she'd faint. After she pulled a chair to the bedside, I told her everything that had happened. Her expression changed from part to part, and so did the shade of her skin. Sora and Donald were the only others paying any attention to us, since the claymore was still, apparently, more important. I nearly rolled my eyes when I noticed. At least Yuffie and Aerith were still standing near. After I gave Mary a few minutes to process this information, she shook out of her trance and continued to pester me with questions, then a killer bear hug.

"I was so _worried!_" She peeped as she continued to crush my upper body. Aerith somehow managed to finally pull her off, and dragged her out of the door to let me sleep. Minutes passed, with nothing for me to do. I wasn't tired anymore, just sore. Through the window above me, the weak amount of sunlight turned the sky pink, until it eventually grew black with night. Stars poked out from the dark and twittered through the peace. Through the door I could still, but barely, hear the humming of the massive computer. Sleep didn't come quickly. It must have been hours before I finally drifted off to dream land.

* * *

I woke up again after I guess what must have been a few hours. The sky was brightened with the moon, which shone from the window, right into my eyes. I groaned and tried to cover my face with a blanket. I twisted over towards the wall, trying to get back to sleep. That's when I heard something like a laugh from the corner of the room.

Just slightly creepy?

If I was fully awake, I would have screamed and thrown the nearest thing at this…person's head. Unfortunately, I was still half asleep, and simply tried to focus my still-asleep eyes onto this thing in the corner. As I struggled to get the enormous pile of blankets off me, the thing stepped into the little light the moon from the window provided. I gaped.

Axel.

"Kid, you really gave me a scare." He whispered, crossing his arms. I continued to stare. Fear rose in my mind. Was he here to try and kill me like Demyx had? I flinched when he picked up the chair, only for him to move it next to my bed. He sat down, trying to start a conversation with someone who wouldn't answer.

"I'm still collecting what exactly happened, but Demyx made a huge mistake. The whole organization has. That's why… I broke away from them a few days ago." Axel muttered the last part as though he thought someone might be listening. I turned to stare at the moon from the window again. It was quiet.

"Why are you here?" My reply came out smaller than a whisper, slightly afraid of the answer. Axel fished for something in the pockets of his coat and handed me a slip of paper.

"I don't have too much time; the Organization is after me. I want you and your fighting squad to leave here tomorrow and go to this world. Stay there for a few days. It'll be dangerous for a while around here, Got it memorized?" Axel stood up, replacing the chair by the wall. He walked back to me, bent down, and did exactly what Demyx had.

Axel kissed me.

"Until then, kid. Don't get in trouble again, for my sake, okay?" He turned away.

In a flash of darkness, he was gone.

I glanced down at the paper, noticing the familiar design, the shape and name…

I gasped.

This was my home.

* * *

**Breezy:** "Hmm. It would seem that Liz is getting a bit of attention from two certain nobodies. I wonder what will happen? Will her other friend Susan and her adoptive mother be on her world that was once home? What are Axel's intentions? Will Donald ever stop squawking? I know, seeing as I'm the authoress, but you, my readers, will have to wait and find out!

**Sora:** "Merry Christmas!'

**Riku:** "Happy Hanukkah!"

**Kairi:** "Happy Kwanzaa!"

**Breezy:** "And until then, a Happy New Year!"


	18. Memories

**Breezy: **"Well, It's now 2009. Did everyone have a good new year and holidays? I hope so! I've only got a few days 'til I have to go back to school…"

**Sora:** "Aw, don't be sad!"

**Breezy:** "Sora, School means homework…and projects, and classwork. I won't be able to sleep late anymore…Roxas, if you would be so kind."

**Roxas:** "Breezy, of course, does not own Kingdom Hearts, neither the characters, except for her OC and her own plot. Everything else belongs to their rightful owners."

**Breezy:** "Now, let's start this thing!"

* * *

"COME ON!!" I yelled as Sora had shifted back to the warmth of his make-shift bed. He jolted out with a yelp and fell a few inches onto the floor. I ran past him to Mary and the others, all set to take off to the world that was supposedly mine. Mary seemed as tightly wound as I was; she paced back and forth outside the doorway. Sora groaned from his spot on the ground and slowly stood. I scooped Haya up from his perch on the top of the smallest stack of books in the middle of the room and set him in the pouch the moogles had made for me. With it, Haya could still sleep peacefully on the ship. (He didn't have any place on the ship to perch but my shoulder) We said farewell to Leon and the others, hugged Aerith (with the exception of Sora), and set off on our merry way. The claymore had taken care of the heartless in the area for a while, so we walked and chatted with each other until we reached the ship. We loaded up and took off for a new route.

* * *

"I'm bored."

"Mary, we know."

"No, I mean I'm _really _bored."

"We _know_."

"No, I mean _really bored_."

"Mary, this is the twelfth time we've been through this. I get it, you're bored, but I can't do anything about it." I said, gripping my last shred of patience with all the strength I had. Mary scoffed.

"Well then, make me _un_-bored."

"And how would I do that?"

Mary stayed quiet as she thought of something to answer. I sighed and sat in front of her on the floor, reaching out my hand.

"Rock-paper-scissors?"

* * *

We continued through a rock-paper-scissors tournament for a few hours as Sora and Donald switched shifts piloting the ship. When Donald had his turn, Sora would join in, and he and Mary would occasionally get into another argument. Whenever it would happen, I would simply whack them upside the head and put them back on topic. When Sora took his shift back, Goofy left into the back room. After what must have been a half-hour, he came back out with a very old-looking deck of cards. We celebrated.

Still, 40-something games of Blackjack can get quite tiring after a while. After our final one, we simply laid back to stare out at the stars in the eternal space. Mary and I stayed down until Donald and Goofy fell asleep. Mary sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning towards her. Mary stayed silent, with her eyes closed and still.

"It's just… I'm not sure."

"About what?"

"Home. I don't know if it'll be the same or…" Mary left her sentence hanging. I was silent.

When I had reunited with Mary, she said our home had been destroyed by the darkness. I had accepted that, and had moved on. But Axel said for us to go here, to what seemed like my home. Either Mary had been wrong, or somehow the world re-built itself. That thought was a little unnerving to me. After a few minutes, I finished her sentence.

"…if it'll even be there at all."

Believe it or not, we found a few worlds on the way that were completely devoid of life. They made good camping spots, though. Because of that, we camped every so often instead of wearing ourselves down from flying. After two days, we came within a few hundred miles of a world that matched the picture Axel had given us. Mary and I shook with anticipation. Silence passed as we neared the world.

Soon, there was a speck in the window that grew as we got closer. The Earth glowed in the sudden dark around us. We landed.

* * *

I gasped. This _was_ my home. Everything around me looked familiar; the forest, my house, even my old bicycle was leaning against the porch in its usual spot. The barn stood away from us, in its old state. The sky was a dull blue, with clouds dotting the air. Mary looked around and had a strange look on her face.

"Something…doesn't feel right." She said, gazing at the sky. I nodded. While everything was in its usual place, something was off. There was a strange feeling hanging in the air, and there was no sound. No birds, hum of cicadas, or animals from the barn. It was just… quiet.

I ran towards the house. Mary and the others followed at their own pace. Jumping up the steps and slamming the front door open, I ran into my house. Silence greeted me, with no comfort to offer.

"MOM?" I yelled through the house, it echoed, almost mocking me.

"LINDSEY?" I shouted through, running up the stairs to their bedrooms. There was no one anywhere. Downstairs, I heard Sora walk in, calling for me. I didn't answer. Instead, I flew out my bedroom window, towards the barn.

I burst through the closed doors, stopping abruptly to listen. There were no animals. The equipment lay in their usual places. I walked back out and knelt on the ground, desperately trying not to cry. If no one were here, then why did Axel want me to stay? Even though I tried not to, the tears came spilling out, one by one. I felt a hand on my shoulder, guiding me up. It took my chin in its hand and wiped away my tears. I opened my eyes.

It was a woman, one I didn't know. Her hair was a dark brown color, with crystalline blue eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows and took me into her arms, where she kept me. She said noting. After a few more minutes, I stopped crying, and tried to back away from this strange woman who came out of nowhere. I wiped the leftover tears from my cheeks.

"Who-who are you?" I asked her. She smiled.

"I'm your mother, Sachi Ichihara." She rocked back and forth on her heels and looked behind me. I turned.

"Hey, Liz! You okay? You went off for a while…" Sora yelled from the window.

"I'm okay!" I yelled back. I turned around to ask her something else.

She was gone.

* * *

"So, Liz, what were you doing out here?" Mary asked as we sat in the last bit of sunlight on the porch. Thankfully, after around an hour that we had arrived, the ambient sounds from the forest behind returned. The cicadas cried loudly in the afternoon heat as we all found something to do. Sora, Donald and Goofy were currently in my kitchen, eating the last of some Popsicles that had been in there for around a year. It sickened me to think that there were around 12 in that box, and that those three wanted to finish the whole thing.

"Oh, um… I was just…ya know, talking to myself." I replied. The name my so-called 'mother' had called me was stuck in my head. Then again, she couldn't be my real mother, could she? Mary nodded, bringing me out of a daze.

"I can accept that. It was so quiet around here I thought I'd start arguing with-" Mary was interrupted by a large groan from the doorway behind us. Sora leaned against it, swaying and being held onto by Donald. Mary snorted, which Sora then glared at her for.

"How many popsicles did you guys eat?" I choked. Sora groaned at the word popsicle.

"Are still eating. Donald here put on a bet to see how many we could eat. I got to five, Donald three, and Goofy's still going for it." Sora swayed and knelt on the wood where he hurked, as if he were about to throw up. I kindly pointed to the bathroom inside. Once he moved, Mary started laughing. After a few seconds of trying to scold her, I joined in. That night, Sora and Donald were thankful that we had the living room next to the bathroom, and that we had painkillers that weren't expired.

Goofy, however, was absolutely fine, even though he ate the rest of the pack.

* * *

After finding a place for everyone to settle that night, (Sora and Donald in the Living room, Mary in the master bedroom, Goofy in Lindsey's room, and me in my own room.) I sat in my old room to look around, knowing I wouldn't sleep at all. The sky blue walls and paintings stood out like old friends, welcoming me home. I had the window open the whole night, savoring the sweet, crisp air of summer night. A year. Over an entire year that I had been here. The only problem with the quiet of night was that it brought back all my memories.

The time Axel burned down the dining room in The Castle.

Naminé's quiet talks with me.

Finding a weapon.

When Demyx brought the news that…

Who had left?

I remembered that someone else had been my friend in the organization, but I couldn't remember their name. I tried for the rest of the night to remember, but it was when morning first came that I did finally remember. The boy's name was Roxas, although I couldn't put a face to the name.

* * *

"Oh boy, burnt pancakes. Again." Sora groaned into the napkin he stuffed into his mouth. Goofy scolded him as Mary simply dropped two pancakes onto Sora's plate, splattering his face in syrup. He wiped it off and glared. Mary glared back while she set the pancakes calmly onto my plate. We had had pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and now, dinner. As you can imagine, Mary is not the best cook in the world, but she's better than the rest of us. I pulled a piece of burnt rubber from the inside of one and poured on the syrup.

Other than the first part of dinner, the rest was fine. Sora occasionally gagged on a piece of burnt rubber, as did I and even Mary, but we talked happily about things beside the food. Sora talked about his home, and how a girl named Kairi was there waiting for him and Riku to return. I deeply felt sorry for this girl. According to Sora, she'd been waiting for over a year. He switched to talking about the scenery there and his past adventures with Donald and Goofy, who put in their parts of the conversation when need be. Afterwards, I led everyone to the spot by the pond-lake I loved so much. While Donald and Goofy swam, Mary and Sora fished, and I looked over it all from the pine tree I sat in whenever I wanted to think.

The woman kept coming back to me. She couldn't be my mother, if Demyx had been telling the truth when he said my parents were dead. I clutched the medallion Axel had given me as I leaned back on the trunk, tired of thinking. I simply closed my eyes and listened to the summer's melody as I napped.

* * *

**Breezy:** "Ah, summer. Such a sweet time to nap outside."

**Sora:** "It is relaxing."

**Riku:** "You both would know, seeing as you're always slacking off."

**Breezy:** "Riku, I'm still on vacation. I can sleep all I want as I'm on vacation. As always, I thank all of you awesome reviewers and favoriters! It's been almost two years since this story started, and nothing would have continued if it weren't for all of you! I wish us all to have an amazing new year, and remember that this year is awarded to Demyx here!

**Demyx: **"Really? I have a whole year dedicated to me?"

**Breezy:** "Yep! Enjoy it while you can! Goodbye for now, but I'll be back!"


	19. ANNOUNCMENT

I'm really sorry you guys! I appreciate the reviews, and I thank all of you for reading. But, it may be a few weeks till the next chapter, because I'm thinking up new ideas. After all, you would rather have a good plot than one stringed together, right? I promise that I'll upload as soon as I can. In the meantime, those of you who are interested can take a sneak preview of a new story: Princess' Diaries

Thanks again!!

—!—

It was on a beautiful day that this started. Well, there isn't really a bad day here on these islands, but you can understand, right? Blue skies and seas. Since Sora and Riku had returned, we had been spending every free second together. We hung out in our old spot, roamed around town, and just talked as if nothing had ever happened.

Not that something _didn't _happen; because it oh-so-obviously did.

So what if we had been separated by the darkness? We were together again, and that was what mattered to me. But now, would I be the one that had to leave? I never dreamed of what would happen _after_ all that adventure with the different worlds. I never imagined that Sora would muster the courage to actually confess his feelings. It wasn't long after that that we had received a letter from King Mickey, stating that _I _was apparently needed in Radiant Garden.

To rule.

As royalty.

Of course, that was a little shock.

Once I got over it though, I thought about what would actually happen if I did go or if I didn't. The people of Radiant Garden had finished their castle construction, and now needed a government. Ansem the Wise had watched over the city while he was still alive, but now that he was gone…no one was there. The only reason the city wasn't in shambles was because they were working towards a common goal. They needed a leader. If not, the city would crumble.

Therefore, I had decided that I couldn't turn down the people of Radiant Garden over something this important. No matter how much it hurt to leave this place, I knew in my heart it had to be done. Sora, however, refused to let me go alone, and Riku, being the strong 'big brother', also would tag along. That did comfort me. After all, it's not easy to rule a kingdom alone, right?


	20. Never Ends

**Breezy:** "Oh man, am I late. I'm really sorry about being so slow, guys. Perhaps a new chapter would make you direct those pitchforks away from me? As always, I own nothing, blah, blah, blah… Only the OCs and plot are mine, blah, blah, blah… Enjoy!"

* * *

My awakening was a loud one.

"LIZ!!" Mary screamed my name during a peaceful dream I had. As a result of this surprise, I fell from my spot high up in the branches of that pine tree and threw my eyes open. I slowly fell to the ground with a little air resistance, and soon summoned my bow and arrows. Heartless surrounded us. It was hard to count how many, because now it was dark and the moon hadn't come up yet. I kicked one away and shot another that had jumped behind Sora. Mary sliced one that had climbed onto my leg.

"Where did they come from?" I asked, knocking down a rather large shadow.

"They just appeared outta nowhere, like always!" Sora shouted over the sound of the swirling vortexes that were opening all around. More and more heartless were appearing. Now they were creeping out of the trees and even from the water. Something seemed strange about this situation. I turned around.

"Mary, what's the name of the forest we're in?"

"What?" She glanced at me with a crazy look on her face. I furrowed my eyebrows and stood still, even though we were now surrounded by Neo-shadows as well. I stared directly into her eyes and asked again.

"The hell are you on about? Incase you haven't noticed, we're surrounded!" She screamed while knocking away a shadow. It fell back, hit but not injured. Sora and Goofy looked at us while also deflecting. I now ignored the heartless that came at me. They jumped, seizing the chance of prey. I did not move. Neither did Mary. She said nothing and stood there,s obviously thinking I was out of my mind. Sora ran to block them, but he was too far.

They all disappeared the second they came within an inch of me. Mary scowled.

"What the _hell _were you doing?" She said, motioning to the now empty ground around us. "And what did you do just now?" I grinned.

"I didn't do anything, _Mary._ I think you did…"I said, leveling my bow to the height of her face. She stared for a minute, and then grinned.

"Aw, I thought you'd forgotten how to tell, Liz." Demyx said, in a swirl of darkness. A second later, he looked like his regular self. Sora started to attack, before I held him back.

"Sora, easy. We don't even know why he's here." I glanced between the nobody and my friends. I was still a little sore about what had happened between us. "You never were the best actor, Demyx. Where's Mary, and why are you here?" I asked, letting go of Sora. The water user shrugged.

"She's probably back at your 'base camp' back there, enjoying a good nap. As for why I'm here… well…" He paused, looking up at the sky. Dem mumbled something. "Well, I guess that Axel needed some help." He scratched the back of his neck. Sora looked between us, crossing his arms. Donald huffed. Goofy scratched his nose. I stood and watched my old friend with curiosity.

"Look, I can't exactly stay for a while. I guess I just wanted to say I'm sorry. The Organization is falling apart. Everyone knows. That's one of the reasons Axel left, and I thought I might join him…" He broke off, looking around. "But for now, consider me a double. I want to help you guys, but I don't think I can yet." He turned, walking into a dark portal. "Liz, for what it's worth, I think you are working." He grinned and vanished. Sora still seemed lost.

"Um… what?"

* * *

Demyx left a few minutes later. We found Mary in the house, unharmed, and fast asleep. Because she had crashed in my room, I took the guest room bed we had never used. I hadn't even looked in the bedrooms that belonged to my family. Instead, I spent most of the night looking out at the pale moon through the top of my window, waiting for sleep to finally claim me.

The next morning, and the one after that, was uneventful and free of any visits from enemies. They were spent with laughs and many…interesting conversations between us (Sora found a drawing by Lindsey and asked what the 'giant-orange-and-green-blob-with-an-aloe vera-plant was) It was the fourth day we arrived in this empty world when we (and by 'we' I mean 'me') had decided Axel's time had run up and we needed to go on to the next world. The last morning we would spend on this barren world soon arrived, and Mary and I decided to once again explore home.

We rode bikes to town, the park, the grocery store, and every other public place around and met no one. Just as it had been since we got here. Mary and I walked the bikes back to the house, savoring the sound of the cicadas and birds.

"So where are we going next?" Mary asked as the sun shone from behind a cloud. She looked over at me and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Don't know yet. Goofy and Donald say they want to drive this time, so…" I trailed off, spotting a hawk soar over our heads. A few seconds later, Haya perched on my shoulder, nudging my neck lovingly. I stroked him and stopped walking. We continued walking down the path in silence.

* * *

"Rock. I win." Sora grinned, shaking his fist in the air. Mary sighed, while I continued to count how many blotches were on the ceiling. We had been in the Gummi ship for hours, flying through the cosmos and waiting for Donald and Goofy to land. This was the tenth game of rock-paper-scissors that Sora had won, out of the numerous others we had played. It was starting to get boring.

Actually, the boredom started seven hours ago, when we had left home.

"Sora, hate to break it to ya, but winning ten games of rock-paper-scissors isn't really an accomplishment that's worthy of recognition."

"So?" He replied, putting his hands behind his head and smiling. "I just can't believe I beat you." Mary lifted her head from nodding it, and stared at him, silent until I shifted my weight to another foot.

"I'll have to take that as a compliment. After all, you don't usually give them…" Mary trailed off, walking away. I turned to Sora, shrugging. She shook his head and glanced out the window. We were coming up on a world that was shaped after a castle and a surrounding town. I gaped. The walls were as white as clouds, the roof as blue as the sky.

"Whoa." I whispered.

"We're here!" Donald shouted from the cockpit. Goofy soon followed from behind, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn. Donald turned around and yelled at Goofy to wake up, jumping up and down to emphasize. Goofy scratched the back of his head and looked at his feet.

"Sorry, Donald. A-hyuck!" He laughed and I giggled as Donald turned back around, a proud look on his face.

We stepped off the ship, walking into a room with lights almost everywhere, blinking and flashing. Buzzing sounds came from all around, echoing in the large area.

"This is your castle…must be nice to be home, huh?" Sora said, looking at Donald and Goofy.

"WHAT?!" Mary and I screeched. "This is your home? This is the place you guys lived in? This place is _huge_!" I picked Donald up, shaking him back and forth. "Why don't you tell me these things, Donald?"

"Ya know, something don't feel quite right…" Goofy said, looking around the room. I dropped Donald and followed Goofy's eyes around the room.

"Yeah." Donald muttered, glaring at me and rubbing his shoulders. I grinned.

"You're back!''

We looked around for the source of the sound, when something grabbed my pant leg.

"AH!" I stumbled, grabbing my leg. I caught something furry and small in my hand. Whatever it was, it was… wearing as apron? Another voice piped up from Donald's shoulder. A chipmunk almost identical to the one I was holding sat there, almost bouncing with eagerness.

"Move it! Let's go!" He said, pointing to a doorway down the path. The thing in my hand crawled onto my shoulder and jumped up and down.

"Queen Minnie needs to see you!"

"The castle's in danger! Hurry!"

The two little animals jumped down and raced off up a fight of stairs ahead of us, occasionally jumping and motioning us forward. I shrugged to Sora, and the five of us ran after them.

We ran up the stairs and came into a garden. I gasped. There were topiaries everywhere, shaped like animals playing instruments in a marching band. The flowers climbing the wall were bright and numerous. Mary glanced up behind us, and tugged my shirtsleeve. It seemed we were standing in a courtyard; around us, higher on the walls, were covered platforms attached to the castle.

"Come on!" Donald shouted, stamping his foot and pulling Mary to a door in the shade. I pulled it open, and steeped into the hallway. It was cool and the carpet was thick. The walls were decorated with occasional tapestries and sculptures. Sora ran ahead of us and turned a corner. After following him, we came to two big, _big_, doors.

"Wow." Mary and I said. Goofy laughed and knocked on the wood. A smaller door inside the door opened, and we walked inside. Donald walked into the room, hand to his head in a salute, Goofy soon following.

"Your Majesty Queen Minnie, we're back!" Donald stood at attention as Goofy bowed. A mouse in a small pink ball gown turned to us and smiled, her hands coming together.

"Thank goodness you're here." Her voice was very cute, and her eyes twinkled.

"Your Majesty," Goofy got up from his bow, "did ya happen to summon us?" I looked between the two. Sora and Mary crossed their arms.

"Yes."

"Where's the King?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's not here?" Sora walked up beside me. Donald pulled him down and glared at him. Then he turned to the Queen, trying to cover his anger with a fake smile.

"Excuse him. This is Sora." Sora swatted Donald's hand, trying to get his ear off. I rolled my eyes at the tiny duck.

"Oh yes! The king told me all about you in his letters. He says you're a very brave young man." The Queen said, while bringing her hands together.

"So, does that mean you know where he is?" I asked. Queen Minnie shook her head and sighed.

"I wish I could tell you. I would if I could, but… I'm afraid I don't know." Sora, Donald, and Goofy sighed.

"Your Majesty, did ya happen to summon us?" Goofy asked, tilting his head.

"Yes."

"So, did you summon us because of the Heartless?" Donald inquired. The Queen gasped.

"Oh my… so those are the heartless…" She trailed off, glancing at the large paintings of mice in various clothes above our heads on the walls above.

"Don't worry, Queen Minnie. We'll take care of any of these heartless!" I stated, stamping my foot for emphasis. The smile returned to her face as she looked us over.

"I know I can trust all of you. There's something I want all of you to see," she paused, striding across the room as if in a hurry, "would you please escort me to the audience chamber?"

Donald and Goofy nodded, hurrying into a salute. Mary and I nearly whacked our heads from trying to copy them so fast. Sora did whack his.

"Oh no! I forgot to warn all those in the castle about the danger!" The Queen half-shouted.

"It's okay," Sora broke in, "we'll go warn all of them for you!" He thumped his chest, while pulling out the Keyblade.

"No Sora! You'll just get lost! You stay here with the queen, while Goofy and I go warn the others! Liz, Mary, you watch him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid!"

"Uh, okay?" I said, waving slightly as Donald and Goofy ran out the door. Sora pouted as much as someone his age could over practically being called 'stupid'. The Queen stepped forward, and overlooked us. I grinned and curtsied slightly to her.

"Pleasure working for you, your majesty."

* * *

"It just never ends, does it?"

We were surrounded by heartless. After taking Queen Minnie to the Audience Chamber, we'd been ambushed. I grinned and fixed another arrow to my bow, cackling insanely after it blew up a rather large heartless. As I flew around and hit the weak points on heartless that towered over Mary and Sora, the other two were making good progress with the rest. Queen Minnie was also fighting, with a weapon that apparently had no form. Then again, it was wiping away a fair amount of shadows, so whatever.

Suddenly, the heartless disappeared in a flash of light. I glanced around, looking for the source of the sudden disappearance. Queen Minnie stood to the left of the throne in the back of the room, stepping back from it. When she stood aside, I could see a small chamber leading down. Steps downward led into, yet again, more dark.

"That works too…" I mumbled.

"Whoa…" Sora ogled at the steps, as if he saw it in a movie once.

"The room below is called 'The Hall of the Cornerstone.' Before, the Cornerstone of Light kept heartless from other worlds from entering the castle. But now…" She trailed off, starting to walk down the steps. Sora glanced at me and shrugged, then followed. So did I.

After a while, we stepped into a room that did not fit its title. Dark black thorns hung from every surface in the room, shrouding it in a darkened atmosphere. In the center of the room, there stood a bright, swirling circle of light encased inside a glass. Thorns also covered it, but not like the rest of the room. The thorns on the glass looked… dead.

"This is The Cornerstone, right ma'am?" I asked, stepping on any and all the vines I could.

"Yes. It's the cherished Cornerstone of the Castle. But look… the thorns… they must be the work of someone evil. I just don't know who…"

A burst of sickly, green flames shot up in front of the Cornerstone. Queen Minnie screamed, fearing the glass had burst into flames, but Sora clenched the Keyblade tightly.

"Maleficent!" Sora yelled. Maleficent cackled, as the flames around her grew higher.

"Well, well. What have we here? If it isn't the wretched Keyblade holder, and his pitiful lackeys!"

"What?!" Donald, who had just walked in a few seconds earlier along with Goofy, shook his staff and ran at the ghastly image of one of Sora's worst enemies. As he hit her with his staff, he flew right through her, landing in front of the Cornerstone.

"All in good time. I _promise_ you will all be able to take part in my vengeance. Still, you must be patient."

"What are you doing here, Maleficent?" Queen Minnie asked, with visible fury in her eyes. Even for her being two feet tall, the Queen had one nasty death glare. I mentally applauded her.

"Ah, Queen Minnie," The witch mocked, bowing, "radiant, as always. I'm here on a property venture. I'd like this castle for my own. However, I'm afraid it's a bit too 'bright' for my taste, so I suppose I'll have to fill every room with my own personal touch of darkness." She reached for The Cornerstone, which rejected her hand.

"You'd best stop right now, if you know what's good for you!"

"Ohh…" Maleficent said, smirking, "how very frightening. Very well. I'll stop… just as soon as the Castle belongs to _me!_" She screamed, throwing up her arms as the flames surrounding her reached the ceiling, very well over twenty feet above our heads. The flames then burned themselves out, taking Maleficent with them.

"Jeebus. She's got major issues…" I said, putting my bow back up.

"I'm worried, Sora. Nothing like this has happened before; I checked all the castle records, but not a thing has come up. I couldn't find a single clue." The Queen said, crossing her hands again. Silence crossed the dark gray room.

"I know! We should go ask someone with a lotsa knowledge about the castle!" Goofy said. Donald tapped his foot.

"Merlin the Wizard!"

"Yeah, Merlin'll know what to do!" I said, getting pumped for another road trip. "Wait, where's Mary?" Donald and Goofy shook their heads. Sora shrugged.

Mary can handle herself, and we'll only be gone a while. Let's just go and get Merlin." Stated Sora, whisking away the Keyblade in a flash of light. I sighed, knowing he was right and following. We waved goodbye, for now, to Queen Minnie and were on our way.

* * *

**Breezy:** "Oh God, please point the pitchforks away! I'm really sorry you guys, again! But, since summer is coming soon, I'll have boatloads of free time for you all. Good night!


	21. Cornerstone

**Breezy:** "Good 'ay, mate! I be bringn' a chapter for ye!"

**Riku:** "Why'd you forget us in the last chapter?"

**Sora:** "I kinda missed your desk…"

**Breezy:** "Silly boys, I didn't forget you! I just didn't think of you for an elongated amount of time! Now, I must say that I, being of sound mind and will *snort*, do not own anything about this story except for the 'plot' and the original characters. If I owned Square Enix, I would not be here. I would be sitting on the shores of the Caribbean, enjoying a fruity beverage of my choice."

**Riku:** "Please enjoy and review."

* * *

"MERLIIIIN~!!!" I yelled, throwing open the door to his house. Said magician dropped something that shattered as it hit the floor. The twitching sorcerer turned to me.

"Oops. Sorry about that—anyway, we need you!!" Sora rushed in, caught a breath, and gaped at the now bubbling mixture on the floor. After a brief moment, the other two caught up and tripped over us in their haste to get in.

"Merlin! Come quick; the castle's in _big_ trouble!" Donald quacked as I lifted him calmly off of me. Goofy was kind enough to get up himself. "Maleficent's inside the castle, and she brought heartless with her!" Donald started to explain farther as Merlin summoned his wand…

* * *

"And the queen's in danger, and, and… huh?"

We now stood inside the Hall to the Cornerstone once more.

"Perhaps I should see for myself." Merlin stated as he put the wand away. After this small task was done, he went closer to the cornerstone, inspecting it up and down.

"What's wrong, Merlin?"

"Yes, what's happening to the cornerstone?"

Merlin turned to us with a grave look glued to his face. He sighed, fingering his beard in thought.

"This is not good. Not at all. It's really quite serious." He announced. I gulped, noticing that the darkened vines seemed bigger than they had before. With a sudden poof, a door appeared; courtesy of Merlin.

"Whoa…"

"What is that?" The gleaming white door seemed to compel Sora to ask just that. The large, tall door was glimmering, even in such a darkened room as this one.

"My boy, this is a door to another world. I believe said world holds within it the reason for our troubles here."

"So," I started to speak, "You're saying that if we go through this door, then we can find the guy responsible for what's going on here; and that we can stop it, right?" I turned to Merlin; he nodded.

"Then we should go stop him!" Sora shouted, starting for the door.

"Wait! The person responsible must be stopped, of course, but we must do something else before that." Merlin turned to Sora. "I believe that somewhere in this world, there is a door identical to the one you see here. As long as that door is open, this castle will be in danger. I need you to find it, secure it, and lock it, Sora."

Sora nodded.

"Got it."

"Don't worry, Merlin. You can count on us!"

"One more thing." The magician spoke once more. "While you are in this world, you may be tempted to do something dark. You must—_must—_resist this temptation at all costs!" I cocked my head to the side, unsure.

"What do you mean?" Merlin simply smiled at my comment, and gestured to the door.

"I believe you'll understand soon. We believe in you four!"

As if on cue, the door was opened, and we were sucked into the light.

------------

I heard a bone pop as the door threw us onto the ground. _'Ow…'_ I groaned as I pushed myself up. Standing, I did a quick check of our surroundings. Grayscale was the dominant here, as everything was black, white, or in-between. Large, differing trees, shrubs, and flowers with… faces on them.

Joy.

"Hey, it's the Cornerstone of Light!" Goofy pointed with a rather large hand. It seemed my hands were larger too; as well as my feet. _'Okay…'_

"Why is everything black and white?"

"Why are my feet so huge?"

"This is sorta like… um…"

"Déjà vu?" Goofy finished, turning to us.

"Yeah! That's it!"

Sora turned back to them, then glanced around.

"Really? Have you been here before?"

The two shrugged, as I cocked an eyebrow. Maybe they were here in a past life or something… I turned around, hearing rather loud footsteps. My eyes widened at the huge mass of space now towering over me. I stepped back to see the face of… Pete? '_'Anger mark growing…'_

"Hey you three, have you seen any bad guys around here?" He asked, clearly in either innocence or stupidity. I twitched, and joined Sora, Donald, and Goofy in pointing back at him. He fell back, as if hit, and forced a fist in front of my face. _'Anger mark now visible…'_

"You little-" he gave us a once-over and dropped his fist. "Bah! I don't have time to waste on a couple of brats like you! You're lucky I went easy on ya!" With this rather stupid not-even-a-comeback he looked away and ran down the hill. As he left, I silently wished he would tumble down, rather than run.

"I guess we found our villain."

* * *

**Breezy: **"Sorry again about the shortness. Then again, a short chapter now is better than a long one in… December, right?"

**Riku:** "…"

**Sora:** "… Get her."


End file.
